Wolf's Rain: Seekers of Paradise
by WhiteLight12
Summary: There lives a legend of Paradise that is allegedly supposed to open at the end of the world. However, only wolves know how to find it. But they are presumed extinct for 200 years. Join Luna, a black she-wolf with becomes part of a pack of wolves with mysterious pasts as they thrive among the dying earth to reach a mysterious place called Paradise, a place only wolves can find.
1. Chapter 1 Prologue

I remember when it happened... the day my whole world was taken from me in a blink of an eye... I was running. Running through the gunfire and through the falling bodies of my dying pack. As I ran through the fire, I run past my dying parents, who had been slaughtered into almost nothing by the rapid fire of gunshots that I'll never get out of my head.

Everyone of the wolves in my pack was dying... Their howls of pain and torture echoed in my wolf ears. I had no choice but to leave them behind. When I make it on the edge of my pack's territory, I stand there and felt the burning sensation of the fire the bullets had made contact with and I too had been shot through both of my wolf ears as a result of this massacre... Looking down on what was left of my pack... there was nothing but fire, smoke, and above it all, a large noble ship that used it's human made guns to kill every last one of us. I lift my wolf head up and release a mourning howl into the smoke filled sky. After that, I turned in the other direction and began to run... never looking back at what was once my home...


	2. Chapter 2 City that Howls

( _3 months later...)_

 _The snow was becoming more thicker the more I ran through it. It started sticking to my black wolf's fur and it stuck to my now nicked wolf ears. In the last three months, I have not seen any other wolves in this dying world. It felt as though I'm the only wolf left. As I continued to run in this blizzard, my wolf nose began to catch a rather sweet scent. Like the scent... of the legendary Lunar Flower that my pack had talked about many times before when I was a pup. Being an adult now... I believed that's what that scent was._

 _I stop on top of a snowy hill while the heavy and rough winds blew through my black wolf fur, making it move to the left. My wolf ears twitch off to the left when the sound of a gun cocking and the sound of a dog growling. When I turn my wolf head in the direction of those sounds, I get a good look of what this dog looked like. It had blue black fur with bright blue eyes and a spiked collar that humans supposedly use and erect pointed ears. The human had a gun pointed at me and was ready to fire at me. The only thing I could do was take off running in the other direction in trying to avoid being shot._

 _From behind me, I hear the dog barking viciously over the rough, loud wind. I knew I'd be followed because my wolf paw prints surely left im_

 _prints deep in the fresh snow. There were also loud gunshots behind me though I paid no mind to them and continued to follow to scent of that flower. In the back of my mind, I knew it wouldn't be the last time that I would see those two while I'm out here in trying to survive. There's only so much a wolf can do out here._

 _When I make it to where that scent was coming from, I stop to see that it was nothing more than a domed city that was inhabited by humans. It looked eerie and looked like it was a place where wolves shouldn't be. But that's where the scent was coming from therefore I had to follow it and find it. Once I make it down there, I look around for a entrance. Unfortunately, I couldn't go in there in my wolf form, my true form._

I shift to my human form in order to get in the domed city. This was the only way that I would be able to get into the city without letting the humans know that I'm a wolf. Because apparently humans are scared of what I really am. They just freak out in a certain way like that human I had an encounter with just now with his hunting mutt. I put my hands in the pockets of my jean jacket and let my black hair hang loosely on my head. Needless to say, it was tied to a ponytail and it hung over my right shoulder while my bangs hung over my eyes, giving me a tomboyish appearance.

As I walk by the humans undetected, I took notice that a couple of dogs way smaller than me suddenly hide behind their humans. It's no surprise that they can see that I'm a wolf. I've been in a couple of other cities and seen dogs do that so I'm not bothered by it. These humans can't because of their blinded visions. The further I walked into this dingy city, the more I caught the scent of the Lunar Flower.

Something also tells me that I'm not the only wolf here. It mixed in with the Lunar Flower scent. When I turn into an alley way to get out of the humans' sight, I then run into this... other wolf. It was a tanned furred male wolf with a collar around his neck with an scarlet X on the front of it. He wore a mustard yellow short-sleeve jacket over a long sleeved dark grey T-shirt, pale green (almost grey) sweatpants, and a pair of dark grey sneakers in his human form with dark amber eyes and sandy shaggy hair. He seemed to be chilling on a set of stairs with is arms behind his head and his eyes shut as if he were relaxing.

He seemed to hear me coming because the second I walked into the alley way, he opened his eyes and jolted up to an upright position with wide eyes. "Whoa! Take it easy there." I say, lifting up my hands as if I were offended. He gives me a smug grin and stood up. "Well hello there. Never thought I'd see a pretty she-wolf like you." he said, trying to butter me up. I roll my eyes and put my hands back in my pockets. "Don't even think about it tough guy. I'd just be willing to kick your ass if you try anything. Huh. The first time I see another wolf in a city and this is the first impression I get from them." I say in a sarcastic yet truthful way. He lets out a cheeky laugh as he scratches the back of his head.

"Heh. Sorry. Just a force of habit. I'm Hige if you wanna know." he said, using his thumbs to point to himself. "I'm Luna." I introduce in a friendly manner. He smiles at me and continued to scratch the back of his head. "Say, you want to get something to eat? You do look hungry." he offered nicely. I just smile at him as I walk up to him. "As long as you don't try anything, I think we'll be alright." I say, making sure that he don't do nothing that's going to set me off.

The two of us walk through the city undetected by the humans who inhabited this place. Never in my life have I thought I'd meet another wolf. I thought I was the only one since my entire pack was killed before my eyes. However, once we get out onto the street, the sound of a loud gunshot echoed in my ears. It got Hige's attention too. "Man, looks like their really going at it today. They seem to pick off one moron after another." he said to me. "Yeah... it seems that way." I say, more distantly than direct. In curiosity, the two of us decided to go check it out. The closer we got to where that gunshot came from, the closer we begin to figure out that there was a scent of another wolf in this city and that the gunshot must've been connected with that.

Hige then began to follow his nose as to where they were taking that wolf. I raise my eyebrow in seeing this. "Hey, wait up." I call, catching up with him. In all honesty, I didn't want to go however a part of me wanted to see where this wolf was going to. Hige looks back at me for a moment with a sly grin on his face. Well, so much for getting something to eat to hold me over.

The two of us make it to a building with what appears to be human scientists in it. Although we still went in human form, I saw our wolf shadows appear on the right wall. That would be the humans way of figuring out that Hige and I are wolves.

 _The two of us walk into a room with a single cage in it in wolf form. Inside the cage, was the body of... a pure white wolf that seemed to be sleeping. My wolf ears raise completely at seeing this wolf. When Hige and I approach the cage, I slightly lower my wolf head to get a better look at him. I couldn't take my golden wolf eyes off of him. There was blood underneath him so it clicked to me that he was the one who was connected with that gunshot._

We then shift to human form, kneeled down to the white wolf's level. We continued to observe until the sounds of a male human voice made us stand up. "Hey! What department are you two in?" he said. I look back at him with a cocked eye. "Oh, uh, sorry. We were just looking for some cleaning supplies and we must've gotten lost." Hige said in a fib, scratching the back of his head nervously. The humans standing at the doorway, a man and woman, were just looking at us before the man human points us towards where the supposed cleaning supplies are.

However, the two of us walk into an empty room that didn't have anything in it that was adjacent of the white wolf's cage. We pressed our bodies to the wall of where the door was and listened in very closely to what the humans were saying. I kept my head turned towards the door to listen closely.

"So, you think it's really a wolf like Quent Yaiden stated?" the man asked. "I don't know. I've never seen a real one before. But if it is a wolf, it may be the cause of Cheza's sudden change." the woman replied. I cock my eyebrow at the name Cheza because it's a term that I've never heard before in my life. No one in my late pack had ever told me anything about Cheza, or much about Paradise. It seemed off to me.

"Cheza? Who's that?" I whisper, still looking off to the doorway. "She's the flower maiden created from the Lunar Flowers. The nobles created her from lost alchemy and boom, she's here." Hige vaguely explains to me in a soft toned voice. That makes as much sense as any and I guess I'll find out more about her soon enough. In looking around the corner of this room, I could see that the humans were now gone.

"Okay. They're gone." I tell him, walking out of the room and see that they are in fact not in the room. We re-approach the cage with the white wolf in it to see him with his wolf eyes closed. I kneel down so that I was sitting on my knees with my hands resting on them and my ponytail resting over my right shoulder. I couldn't take my eyes off of him for some reason. "Damn, you really screwed up." Hige started but got no reaction. I scoffed at this and rolled my eyes. "You must've been really blind sided to get yourself caught like this. Can't say it's the first time I've seen our kind get caught like this." I say to him in a stern tone. The white wolf opened his wolf eye to look at us. They were golden yellow like mine when I'm in my wolf form.

" _I can leave when I feel like it_." the white wolf says firmly. He had an aloof yet slightly deep toned voice. "Really? Then why are you in there?" Hige wondered, his head resting on his left hand in a care free way. " _I just... needed somewhere to rest is all."_ the white wolf said in a tired tone. That made me grin; not in a caring way but in a joking kind of way because I don't see how laying in a cage laying in a pool of one's own blood is considering finding a place to rest.

"I'm Hige. It's nice to meet you. And this here's Luna." Hige responded in a chuckle, introducing the two of us. The white wolf didn't seem amused by how Hige said that and I honestly don't blame him because I'm not amused either. " _So why are you two here?_ " the white wolf asked, still looking up at us. I lean up and shrug my shoulders.

"Eh, no reason really. It seemed like something interesting was going to happen and we just followed our noses." Hige answered in a sluggish way. "May I remind you that I just met you and I chose to come with you to see what that gunshot was connected too." I say, reminding him as I looked at him. Hige looked back at me and grinned. He still seemed to be flirting with me because of how he's grinning at me and I'm liable to kick his ass for it.

" _Those forms... they're not your true ones. Why hide yourselves?_ " the white wolf stated, seeing that Hige and I are wolves as well. "So we don't end up like you. I only do it to keep myself protected from the humans here. Mostly in any city I've been through." I answer straightforwardly. Part of that is true because I have walked into cities in my human form which I had learned to use a couple of months ago actually. This white wolf doesn't seem to get the whole, 'Stay in your human disguise so that the humans won't think anything of what we are.' kind of thing. "It's what we do to protect ourselves. Keep looking like that and you'll wind up back here in no time." Hige added, seeming to agree with me. The white wolf begun to growl at us lowly, partially baring his wolf fangs at us.

" _You two are living lies... you two want to live a miserable death in this city?_ " he retorted in an irritated tone. His tone and growling didn't phase me in the least bit. "Hey, it's what we do to survive. You're really asking for trouble if you think staying in your wolf form all the time will protect you." I spat, narrowing my green eyes at him. I hold my ground at what this white wolf was getting from. " _Have you two given up your pride as wolves?!_ " the white wolf snarls, jumping up with his wolf fangs bared in a snarl. Hige was surprised at what he said but soon softens up.

"Man, you are strange. But having pride doesn't count too much if you're dead. You know?" he said in a cool tone, leaving the white wolf dumbfounded. Then, a loud siren blared above us, getting me to look up at the ceiling. "I think that's our cue to get the hell out of here." I say, feeling the urge to leave this place, "Unless you want to let your wolf pride dig it's heels into you completely, how about you let yourself blend in with the humans for a change? It's the only way you can survive in this messed up world." Both Hige and the white wolf look at me with widened eyes. "You're a lot smarter than I thought for a female." Hige said with a warm smile. I glare at him for a moment before standing back up. "Don't test me. We need to leave here before the humans show up." I answer, getting him to back off a little bit. I put my hands in the pockets of my jacket and watch as the white wolf twists his wolf head off to the side and grab ahold of the metal bars in a growl.

With a tug, he managed to pry them apart without hurting his wolf fangs. It was enough for him to walk out of it. Once the white wolf walks out of the cage, I watch as he takes his human illusion. I grin at what he looked like because he blended right in and didn't stick out like a sore thumb. I mean, if we walk through this deranged and dying city in our wolf forms, we would definitely be the attraction or a danger to the humans here and we'd stick out like sore thumbs. He had medium brown hair and icy, sky-blue eyes. His clothing consists of a white shirt, a grey/black jacket with rolled sleeves, blue jeans, and black and white sneakers.

He seemed to have an aloof and quite distant with strands of his brown hair hanging in front of his face. His pale white skin suited his features very well. As we walked out of that room and out of the building, I kept my hands in my pockets and saw our wolf shadows on the wall again. The humans here didn't think anything of us as we casually walked by them. I know having to use an illusion to protect ourselves from the humans is something a wolf is gonna have to get used to and the white wolf will figure that out the more he uses it. It was difficult for me too; I don't know about Hige and how long he's been using his human illusion.

Once we got outside, it was night time outside and I look up at the ceiling of this dome and I see the full moon above us. The humans don't realize that three wolves had walked by them. "Sir! That big dog! It's gone!" one of those humans cried, getting the attention of those humans that Hige and I saw earlier. Soon enough, the three of us were on top of a building so we were out of sight of the humans. I sat down at the edge of the building about a few feet from the white wolf and Hige was on a piece of the building so he had a better view of the dying city. The white wolf laid on the roof with his legs hanging over the edge.

"Have your wounds healed up yet?" Hige asked the white wolf. "Yeah. After all, it's a full moon tonight." the white wolf said firmly. I glance over at him and grin before looking up at the ceiling with the moon gleaming down at us however, no moonlight did not illuminate us. "So... what brought you here? Is it because of the Lunar Flower?" I ask, still looking up at the ceiling. The white wolf seemed surprised that I knew of the strong attraction to it's sweet scent of the Lunar Flower.

"How'd you know that?" the white wolf asked, partly surprised. I look back at him to see him looking at me with a raised eyebrow. "It's because that scent also brought me here." I answer, looking back at the ceiling. He must've had a greater attraction to the scent better than me. I don't know about Hige though. "That's cool. With my nose, I can tell when a dog is taking a dump. Especially 10 miles away." Hige said, getting me to look at him with a furrowed eyebrow. "Really? That must really stink." the white wolf muses. Hige laughs at what the white wolf said and turned to meet his warm, friendly smile.

"So... why did you two decide to come with me?" the white wolf asked. I shrug my shoulders at his question. Truthfully, I didn't see the problem with being with another wolf. Especially one that seemed to want to be alone for a majority of his spare time. "Eh. I don't know. It seems like I got no where else to be. Plus, you seem interesting." Hige answered smugly. "I've got nothing better to do. I'm wandering everywhere and seemingly nowhere. So... where are you going to?" I answer, looking at the white wolf.

"To Paradise." the white wolf answered, getting both Hige and I to raise our eyebrows. "Paradise huh? That sounds like fun." Hige said, agreeing with the white wolf's plan. "Looks like I know where to go now." I say in agreement. The wind then proceeded to pick up as the white wolf said his name. "My name is... Kiba..." he said, still looking up at the ceiling. Kiba. That name suited him well. This was the start of a new founded friendship. Just Kiba, Hige, and I.


	3. Chapter 3 Toboe, who doesn't howl

The next day had finally come after a restless night. The three of us traveled through the town and it was crawling with humans considering it was midday. We walk through the market without drawing attention from the humans but unlike the dogs here, they know Kiba, Hige, and I are wolves and therefore, we can't hide ourselves from the other animals in this world. I walked a bit behind Hige with my hands at my sides while Kiba was behind me.

I took notice that Hige stopped for a moment to sniff a stand where humans were selling a weird looking food which I never heard of before and as a wolf, I've never heard of them nor have I ever tried them. I guess I wasn't ravenous enough to have any interest in those things. Hige then runs by us and he turns into an alleyway with Kiba and me behind him. Once we were out of the humans sight entirely, he sat down on the steps of a building.

Hige smirks at me before throwing me something. "You didn't think that I'd forget our little dinner date, did you?" he cockily said as I caught what that food item was. "Very funny. Besides, I never said that I was hungry enough to eat whatever the hell this is." I say, holding this piece of strange food in both of my hands. I didn't eat it regardless of me feeling hungry. Well, at least not at this moment.

"This is awful." Kiba vaguely describes, taking a bite out of the piece of food he had. "Well, this is the best you can get here. If I see a deer loping by, I'll catch it for you guys." Hige replied, finishing his food with his eyes shut. I lift it up to my nose and sniff it cautiously. "Yech..." I gagged, throwing it behind me. I'm not into human food such as this therefore, I'm not eating anything that looks like that.

"You haven't even tried that, Luna. Why through it out?" Hige questioned, sounding offended when I throw my food behind me in disgust. I roll my eyes before answering, "Unlike you, I'm not one for eating crap like that. And I sure as hell ain't going to start eating it now." Hige just shrugs in a lazy way before turning his attention away from me. "Whatever. It's your choice. You're not easy to impress are you?" he retorted, giving me a sideways glance. "No. I'm not. And frankly I don't think that'll ever change." I answer him in a distant way. If this was his way of trying to woo a she-wolf, then he is doing a poor job at it considering I'm not a head over heels type of she-wolf and I don't plan on changing my ways about that. I'm going to stick to my guns on that.

I kept looking up at the ceiling before looking down at my feet. "Looks like those nobles are proceeding to picking up one idiot after another." Hige said, getting me to look up at him with a raised eyebrow. "Hmm. Seems like you've seen all the action there is here." I reply, slightly smirking. Hige chuckled at what I said. "You better believe it." he smugly replied, glancing at me.

"Where do you guys think that the humans go after they're caught?" Kiba wondered in a slightly inquisitive tone as he looked over to the ceiling of this dingy dome. He's asking the wrong wolf because I had just gotten here myself therefore I have no idea what he is talking about. Any city I've seen, the humans never do things like that. They just keep to their own and don't bother with any other life forms from the looks of it. I was a veteran of being in multiple cities and haven't seen things like that.

"Probably the same place they took you I guess." Hige shrugged. Looks like he didn't have a clue either. He seemed to have stayed here longer than us so you'd think he'd know this place like the back of his hand considering he'd be the type of wolf who'd spend his time in cities, if you discount the weird collar around his neck. Looking at Kiba, I noticed how focused he looked as if he was thinking of a plan or something like that. "Perfect. I'll sneak in there while blending in." Kiba said, getting Hige and I's attention. For a moment, I thought he was out of his mind. "What? Are you out of your mind? Why go back there when we fooled them before when we escaped?" I question, shaking my head in disbelief. Hige, too, was appalled by Kibas seemingly pointless plan. "I guess that hotdog fried your brain." Hige retorted, leaning forward on the cracked steps he sat on. Kiba looks at us with a stoic glance to show he wasn't phased by our contradictions against him.

"I'm going in whether you two like it or not." Kiba replied vaguely. I raise my eyebrows and my jaw dropped a bit. "Wait a second, what the hell happened to paradise? Aren't you going there?" I asked, turning my body in his direction. "Look, as far as we know, that scent is coming from that building. And as far as we can tell, the only way in is being caught. You two do know about what's being concealed right? The beacon that'll open Paradise." Kiba explained, getting Hige to lean back on the steps and shut his eyes.

"Tch, you might as well forget it. You'll never get close to Cheza." Hige huffs, his head slightly lowered. Kiba raised an eyebrow at that name. It was as if that name wasn't familiar to him. "Cheza?" he asked in a turbid tone. "She's the girl made from Lunar Flowers. The nobles created her from what Hige's been telling me." I answer, crossing my arms. Kiba looks at me for a moment before looking back ahead. "It's pointless really. I couldn't get in as far as the lab." Hige said to us. I figured that would be the case.

No wolf would be able to get down that far. Kiba's eyebrows narrowed as he looked at both of us. "So, why'd you two come here to begin with?" Kiba wondered. I look away from him. "I don't know. I just came here because of that scent." I answer, shrugging my shoulders. Hige answered with having a little excitement to happen here. So, that meant he was here because of the lunar flower scent too. At least I wasn't the only one attracted by it. "Don't you two believe in Paradise?" Kiba asks us. "I'm not going. No way." Hige declined, looking away from Kiba. "I do. But I choose not to go because it's rather futile to go there." I honestly state. Kiba, being disapproved of our ignorance and rather hard headed answers, he just walks off from us.

"Fine. See you two around then." was all he said before walking off. "Hey, Kiba!" Hige called, leaning forward on the steps. I just shake my head because I'm the type of wolf who wouldn't want to go to that place. As far as I know, he could be chasing just a daydream and running in incessant circles for no reason. I'd rather just stay under the humans' shadow and not be noticed as a lone she wolf to the naked eye. Without another word, I turn and walk the opposite direction as Kiba. "Hey, Luna! Where are you going?" Hige called me. I stop in my tracks and look behind me. "I'll meet up with you later. I got to do something." I lied, but I made it sound convincing. I really wanted to leave this place and pretend that I had never met that brainless white wolf. If he thinks that he's going to convince us that we're going to some place that's a daydream, then consider me out of that picture.

Hige just leaned back and closed his eyes with his hands behind his head. That seemed to work and with that, I walked behind the wall that led out of the alleyway with my hands in my pockets. I look up through my strands of hair that laid lazily over my face. I continued to walk down the streets inconspicuously all the while that same flowery scent hits my nose. It smelled sweet to say the least and I couldn't help but take deep inhales of air to smell it.

When I turned down another alleyway to find a place to rest for a little bit, I notice something. I see the form of… another wolf. It was a smaller wolf from what I can see. He was eating something. I look at him with a raised eyebrow. "Um, hello?" I call, getting his attention. The red wolf quickly turned his wolf head to look at me and his wolf ears raised some. " _You're… another one? Like me?"_ he said in a timid tone of voice. He turned to his human form and I took notice of what he looked like. He has a rather effeminate face, neck-length, reddish-brown hair parted on the side. His eyes are a light, golden brown. He wears a faded, red zipper shirt with sleeves rolled up to his elbows, olive-green cargo pants and dark green, military boots. His skin was fair as well. And he had four bracelets on his right wrist.

"Yeah. I'm a wolf too." I answer calmly while giving a smile to the young wolf. "I'm Toboe!" he happily said, extending his hand for a handshake which I happily take. "What're you doing here rummaging through human filth? Don't you think that's a little… weird for a wolf to be doing?" I question, looking at the garbage behind him. "Uh well, that's how I eat. There's nothing much here and it's all I've got." he answers in a timid manner. "Oh I see. Well, never mind that. I'm Luna. I didn't expect to see a young wolf such as yourself here." I said, being honest with him. "You're the first wolf I've ever seen! It's good to know that I'm not the only one here to exist." Toboe said in a cute way. I chuckle at his enthusiasm. "You look hungry too. I can find us something." he offered. Oh god not this crap again. But I decided to roll with it and give in. "Okay. Sounds fair. It will look weird for me considering I never ate anything but whatever meat I can find." I say, remembering on that food Hige offered to Kiba and I. I chose not to eat it and truthfully, I was getting hungry at this time. Toboe seemed happy and he urged me to follow him.

Never in my life would I meet such an enthusiastic pup. "Okay. You lead the way." I say, following him out of the alleyway. We walk into another alleyway and _we shift to wolf form. Frankly, I didn't feel comfortable with being in my wolf form while in the city. It felt… hot against my black wolf fur. I'm kind of heavy coated due to being a timber wolf. The cracked ground was uncomfortable on my paw pads. We come to what looks like more trash bins with crows surrounding them. My wolf jaws watered at seeing the crows because they are delicious and I can practically taste them in my wolf mouth. It wasn't much but it was enough to hold me over. "Watch this…" Toboe said, slowly walking up from around the corner we were. I lower my wolf head and focus my wolf eyes on the birds._

 _Toboe slowly walked from the corner and darted towards the birds, his wolf paws hitting the pavement. I watch as the birds violently peck him on his wolf muzzle, getting him to yelp in pain and he cowered down as they continued to peck him on his wolf muzzle. I lift my wolf head at this and bare my wolf fangs at this. That is so messed up that they would do that to him! I use my wolf hindlegs to start running with my wolf fangs open. The birds notice me and try to peck at me. I dig my wolf fangs into one of them and grip it tightly in my wolf jaws. I hear it crunch under my wolf teeth. In landing on the other side of Toboe, I continue to hold the now dead bird in my wolf jaws. The other birds saw this as a threat and one of the big ones decided to peck me as hard as they could on my wolf muzzle. It hurt so bad and I end up dropping the dead bird to the ground. They even poked me in my wolf eyes which hurt like hell because of their beaks being sharp._

" _You damn birds!" I curse as they pecked my wolf face repeatedly. I shake my wolf head from the pain and run from the birds. When I get farther from them, I notice how Toboe was hiding behind some boxes with his wolf ears lowered. With a calm expression, I walk over to him, my wolf claws clicking against the concrete ground. "Hey, are you-" I begin before the form of a human girl appears. My wolf ears raise along with my wolf head. Toboe too raises his wolf head with his wolf ears raised. As the girl walked by, something fell out of her bag. Toboe, being observant, walks from the crate and goes up to it. I lift my wolf head and keep my wolf paws firmly pressed onto the ground._

 _My wolf hackles slightly raised and I keep my wolf tail slightly raised but not high enough to show I was a threat. Toboe lowered his wolf head to sniff the strange object. He was about to take it that is until that girl had noticed it going missing. Toboe suddenly runs back to his hiding spot, whimpering in the process. I lower my wolf head in concern and walk up to him. That is until the girl notices us and she looks at him with a calm stare. She doesn't understand she's looking at two wolves. I slightly lower my wolf head with my wolf ears raised all the way. The look I was giving her was one of a cool expression. It showed I had no intention of hurting her even though I don't trust humans, no matter how friendly they seem._

"Here. Try some of these. They taste better." _she said to us, pulling out some linked sausages. All I did was sit down with my wolf tail stretched out behind me. Even though they looked good enough to eat, I'm still not tempted to eat those. Toboe whined and hid a bit further. "_ Come on. You're hungry aren't you?" _the girl stated. Toboe first turned his wolf eyes to me with his wolf ears lowered before he slowly walked out of his hiding spot towards her. The girl notices me as well. All she did was give me a smile._

 _Why was this human being so… nice to me when she sees I'm in my wolf form? Does she not know I'm a wolf along with Toboe? "_ Come on girl. I know you're hungry too." _she tells me, holding another thing of_ _sausages. I sniff the air and leaned my wolf head forward a tad. Toboe ends up looking behind him with his wolf head lowered some. I guess I had no choice but to comply on this. I slowly stand to my wolf paws and I slowly walk to the human with my wolf head lowered some. When I walked up to her, she didn't seem phased by my size. All I did was sniff them for a moment before taking them from her hand gently. I then turn around and run away with my wolf claws clicking against the concrete ground as I ran around the corner._

 _I dropped the sausages and lower my wolf head to eat them, using my forepaws to eat them. They tasted okay to me but it wasn't the best thing in the world for me. Since I'm a wolf and wolves shouldn't have to scrap what they can find. When I looked around the corner again, I can see that the human girl looked confused as to why I suddenly took off. But she seemed to get called by another person and she turned to walk away from Toboe. He seemed to have interest in her and he even tried following her. I just kept a low profile and not let myself be seen. I can't trust any humans. Because the last few humans that I have seen before have treated me like I was a monster. Wolves aren't monsters so I don't know why they'd think that._

 _Soon enough, the girl had vanished from Toboe, who was sitting down with his wolf head tilted to the side a bit. He even sat there after she left. I sighed and walked around that corner and approached him, my wolf claws clicking against the concrete. "Toboe, she's gone. Why are you just sitting there?" I ask in confusion, looking at him with my wolf ears raised and my wolf tail hanging limply behind me. The red wolf looks behind him to look at me. "I wanted to go with her. But she told me to stay here." he answered honestly. I turn my wolf head to the right to look at that strange human thing with wheels that the girl was going away in. "She might be nice enough to give us food but I don't think she'd want to take two wolves in. I'm not the type of wolf to be a pet." I answer, shaking my wolf head. Toboe lowered his wolf head and stood back up on his wolf paws, his bracelets jingling as he moved. "Yeah. I guess, however, we still need to thank her for those sausages. Those birds are really mean." Toboe says, looking ahead to go in the direction the girl went._

 _I didn't think at that moment that it would be a good idea because she's going to catch on that we're wolves. However I lift my right forepaw up to help me start walking along the ground. "Okay. I guess you're right." I say, partially fibbing because I really didn't want to go thank a human for doing what any other human wouldn't even think about doing. They usually steer clear of me if they figure out that I'm a wolf._

And with that, the two of us walk into town in our human forms. He seemed to run ahead of me somewhat because of how eager he is to see her again. I just stayed at a normal pace while walking. Even though that human was nice enough to give us food, I didn't see any reason to give her my thanks for doing so. Call me biased and modest but that's how I am with humans. And I don't see the reason Toboe was so warm to humans when he's a wolf himself. I'm not going to question his domestication towards them.

We come to another part of the town and we just happen to see the same girl walking down another road with that same sack in her hands. However, she was alone this time and I didn't see anyone else with her. "There she is! Let's go!" Toboe urged, running ahead of me. "Ah! Toboe! Wait!" I call, running after him. Damn, I don't know if I can keep up with this energetic pup. The girl didn't seem to notice us but Toboe would make sure that would happen.

She walked by us and Toboe went up to her in a jog. "Hey!" he called to her, catching up with her. I roll my green eyes and I catch up with them. She looked at both of us with a confused expression. "Sorry to bother you but uh… thanks for those sausages." I say distantly, my hands in my pockets. "Uh…" the girl said in a confused manner. Yep, I knew that wouldn't go over well. She must think we're crazy or something. "Well, remember those dogs in the alleyway? Well they're ours. The black one is hers." Toboe stated, pointing over at me. It made me cringe to hear Toboe come up with that poor excuse and to call us dogs to keep us covered from our actual forms.

The girl seemed surprised at what Toboe stated and she turned to face us with a smile on her face. "Those beautiful dogs belong to you two?" she said in surprise. I kind of blushed at the fact she finds us beautiful and I widen my eyes. "Beautiful…?" Toboe whispered and he turned to her completely with a huge grin on his face. "Yeah, they're ours!" he stated in a happy tone. "But, how'd you know about them?" the girl asked us. I had to think of an answer that would seem believable in her state of mind. "A lady from the store let us on about where they were. Besides, I let my _dog_ out on her own but she usually comes back around." I fibbed, cringing on the word dog because I'm not a dog at all. No wolf would want to be called that. Don't know how this pup gets around with calling himself that. Was he domesticated or something? Who the hell knows?

"Well, what are their names?" the girl asked us. "Their names are Toboe and Luna." Toboe chuckled, his hands behind his head. "Wow. What weird names." the girl said, a smile etching on her face. That kind of offended me some but I stayed quiet because I didn't want to spoil on us being wolves. Because I don't think she's ever heard of wolves or even seen one in person. So I decided to play along with Toboe. "Yeah. They sure are." I say, shrugging my shoulders. The girl looked at me for a moment with a warm smile. "My names Leara. What's your guys' names?" she asked us. My breath caught in my throat when she asked us that. How were we going to play this off? "We just said, it's Toboe and Luna!" Toboe said in a smug way. Leara looked confused yet again because I don't think that's how it works with humans and dogs.

"Weren't those your dog's names?" Leara asked, raising an eyebrow. A nerve seemed to strike in my cheeks because I swear I felt them turn red. Leara didn't seem to notice my change in expression on my face. "Well, we're a lot alike so we decided to name them after ourselves! Even she says her dog acts just like her so she did the same as me!" Toboe said, pointing at me with his thumb. Without their knowledge, I rolled my eyes at what Toboe told her. Yeah, that's what we're going with. "Yeah. You two are weird." Leara chuckled. Toboe too chuckled lighthearted at her.

Afterwards, the two of us make our way out of the sunlight and we found ourselves in an alleyway. Toboe danced his way into the alleyway with his hands behind his head. I walk casually behind him with my hands in my pockets because I… honestly don't think befriending a human would be the best for me. If Toboe is prone to liking humans and befriending them, then it's his choice. Plus, I went ahead of him to get out of the human's sight since they were out in numbers today in those metal car things as they were picking up random humans for whatever reason. That is until we come around another corner and the first thing we see is… another wolf.

My eyes widen at this wolf, who was in his human form. He is tall and relatively muscular, with cropped silver hair that he ties back in a small ponytail. His skin was olive colored. He had one stud earring in his right ear and two hoops in the left, one larger than the other. He wears tight, black leather that exposes his belly, the sleeves partially ripped off. He is taller than me… yet he looked around to be the same age as me. Toboe came up next to me and gasps at seeing this other wolf. He just stares down at us and didn't seem phased at our reactions of seeing how tall he was compared to us. "You're… another one. Just like us." Toboe stated, cowering down a bit. "I thought he was the only other wolf here besides me." I add, not taking my eyes off this wolf.

"Get out of the way." the grey wolf snarled, looking down at us with a cold expression. Before long, a different scent filled this area. It caused me to turn around to look behind me and I froze in my place and the grey wolf looked up at what I was looking at. There was that blueish black hunting dog that I saw before I went into this domed, human filth of a city. How did this mutt find us? I glared down at the dog, who only stared back at us with a cold stare from her blue eyes. Toboe saw it too and he too froze in his place. Soon enough, this dog's master came around the corner with an empty bottle in his right hand. From the smell of it, he had a vile scent on him. And he was staggering around as if he couldn't see straight.

"Hmm…? You find something?" he said, looking down at her before looking at us with a drunken gaze. The grey wolf used his charisma to leap out of the alleyway that we were in. He doesn't even care we're probably going to meet our potential death to this hunter. In a protective manner, I put Toboe behind me with my right arm extended. I gritted my teeth some as I glared at the dog and her human. "Boy… Girl… No… you two aren't a boy and a girl…" the old human said, stammering towards us with his gun in his hands, cocking it back so it would be ready to fire. As I looked at him, I took notice of how he was trying to focus his eyes. And before long, they widened in realization and he suddenly held his rifle up at us. My heart jumped out of my chest when I knew that he knew that Toboe and I are wolves.

"Shit…" I seethed under my breath, feeling myself shake under my pale skin. The human was about to fire his gun but he was suddenly stopped by that grey wolf, who just happened to drop back in this alley at the most opportune time. He landed on the old human's hands, making his gun fly out of his hands and it clattered on the ground. The blue black hunting dog lowered down and used it's teeth to snap at the grey wolf's leg. "Jump! Hurry up!" he shouted, not taking his eyes off the old human. Without a second thought, I use my charisma to jump up swiftly and I bounce off the sides of the walls with Toboe and the grey wolf behind me.

After that ordeal, we had made it to another part of town. The grey wolf was walking in front of Toboe and I with his back turned to us. He acted as if he didn't have any recollection of saving our asses just now from that hunter and his dog. I was in the back while Toboe walked in between us. "Who the heck was that? And what's up with his dog?" Toboe asked, looking behind us with a concerned expression on his face. "Don't know. Don't care." the grey wolf vaguely stated. I roll my eyes at his conceited attitude towards us. "You're Tsume right? Man, it's quite something! She's the only other wolf I've seen here!" Toboe enthusiastically said, looking back at the grey wolf, Tsume. He turned to look back at me for a moment before looking back straight ahead as if he approved of nothing of me. "I've heard about you from the crows though. They said you befriend humans and run wild with them!" Toboe continued on. I look off to the side as he said that.

"Well, you heard wrong. I don't have friends." Tsume stated distantly. I glance back at him. "Well, that's sad for you I must say." I say, raising an eyebrow. Tsume glanced back at me with a look of disgust on his face. He was already starting to piss me off and I had barely known the guy. "Well, I'm Toboe! She's Luna!" Toboe introduced, using his right thumb to point at me. I didn't want to be introduced because I hardly believe that this arrogant wolf isn't going to want anything to do with either of us. "Thanks for saving our asses back there." I say to Tsume, seeing that was the right thing to do. But he didn't see any need to be nice about it. "Just get lost. Both of you." Tsume growled, turning around a bit to face us with a stoic yet slightly angered expression. Toboe looked up at him with a look of confusion. "I'm getting pissed off. And that only happens when I'm around idiots." Tsume said in a vague voice. I automatically turn away from him with a look of hate because he called Toboe and I idiots. "But… can we come with you?" Toboe said in a hurt tone. "No. You both can't." Tsume growled, walking away from us. I wanted nothing more to do with this asshole of a wolf. Therefore, I jumped off the walkway above the ledge.

I didn't even know that Toboe was separated from me. And I didn't know such a wolf would act so arrogant and hateful as his first introduction. I'll give him the benefit of the doubt because he saved our asses from that hunter because if he didn't save us then, we would've been good as dead. If I wasn't so fear stricken, I would've fought them off. My alleged cowardice made me freeze because when I was out in the snow storm, I had that encounter with them but I winded up running away from them considering that human would've shot me and potentially killed me.

Pretty soon, I winded up finding myself in a garden and the sun was beginning to set. I knew that I would have to find a place somewhere here to settle down for the night and I might leave this place coming the next day while finding me something worth eating here. Maybe a couple of birds to help me hold over for the time being. I was about to leave, until I saw the form of Toboe, chasing what looks like to be a falcon. Seeing it made my stomach growl because I was getting hungry. I swiftly jump down to where he was and follow him in a run. Before I could catch up with him, I catch him jumping at the bird in his wolf form with his wolf fangs bared. The bird tried flying away all the while screeching loudly. His snarls mixed in with it.

Soon enough, he had caught it by it's right wing and he pulled it down to the ground as it continued to screech for help. I run up to him after the screeching slowly ceased. He held the bird in human form. "Toboe, what are you doing?" I question, seeing the now dead bird laying limp in his hands. He looked up at me with a grin on his face as if he didn't know that he just killed that bird. "It's Leara's bird! I'm going to return it to her." Toboe answered enthusiastically. My heart sank at hearing this because if it's her bird then… she's going to know he killed it and he doesn't know it was dead. Just then, I heard another set of footsteps coming our direction and it made my stomach twist.

"Leara!" Toboe exclaimed, looking behind me. I turn around to see Leara, coming to her bird's aid because she heard the screeches from it. "Oh no…" I whisper, following Toboe. When she got to where Toboe was, he handed her the dead bird. "Here. It's your bird!" he said, not noticing the look of sad and shock on her face as she looked at the lifeless bird. I didn't speak during this time because I knew she'd figure out that Toboe was the one who killed it. When the bird wasn't moving, the smile on Toboe's face dropped and he slowly began to realize that he had killed the bird. "No… I didn't mean to…" he said, his voice quivering. "Toboe…" I say quietly, somehow sinking into the same guilt as he was feeling at that point in time. He sunk down to his knees as they buckled underneath him. "I knew it was yours and I… I… I didn't think it would die…" he sobbed, tears running down his face. He felt so damn guilty that he dropped his human form and the look on Leara's face was full of fear. Her eyes widened at seeing Toboe shift to his wolf form right in front of her.

Soon enough, he had thrown his wolf head back all the way with his wolf ears back and he let out a howl of pain and despair. " _Aaaarrrroooooo!"_ he howled, his wolf eyes shut. For some reason, I couldn't help but start to cry also because I feel myself drop my human form, _and shift into my wolf form unintentionally. However, I didn't howl like Toboe was. I feel the grass under my wolf paws and I showed submission and my wolf head lowered and my wolf ears lowered. Even though I didn't look, I sensed the look on Leara's face was one of pure shock and terror because she just saw us drop our human forms to show what we really are…_

 _Before we knew it, I heard Toboe yelp from being suddenly grabbed by Tsume by the neck hide. I lift my wolf head and my wolf ears and see where they were going. I find the feeling in my wolf legs and I began to run after them, only to stop and look at Leara with my wolf eyes widened as the look on her face didn't change. I then follow Tsume and Toboe out of the garden. I knew befriending a human was a bad idea…_

Night time had fallen and we were in a hide out that Tsume usually hid in from what I can gather. I laid down in my human form so that I was facing away from them. I felt sort of guilty for revealing my wolf form to a human unintentionally. That goes to show that I should've left here when I had the chance too… And this is the reason why I never wanted to befriend a human… because they think we're monsters… But we're not… Wolves aren't monsters at all.

"I never meant to kill anything…" Toboe said quietly, making my head turn slightly in hearing him however, I continued to look at the wall. "Granny she… I was at the entrance to the dome. And she was so nice to me. She once told me that when I was little, my eyes would barely open. She gave these bracelets to me… and we've been together ever since." Toboe explained, catching my interest some. That straight up told me that he was with a human at least once in his short life. It's no wonder he warmed up to Leara so fast and I didn't.

"You mean she raised you to be her pet? You were tamed to be nothing more than an obedient dog." Tsume said, trash talking of how Toboe was raised. "I wasn't! I just wanted to protect her but…" Toboe started, his voice trailing off. "Did she throw you out or something because of you being a wolf?" I asked him. "No… she died." Toboe answered, "She died…" He then started to cry with his body curled up into a ball and his face hidden in his knees and arms. That seemed to hit him hard therefore I just kept quiet for the rest of the evening, sitting myself up and leaning against the wall adjacent from him. My head leaned against the concrete wall and I let my eyes slowly close on their own. Things don't seem to be turning around for us.


	4. Chapter 4 Bad Fellows

Late into the night, a sudden, ear piercing sound hit my ears like a bullet ricocheting off something metal countless times and it made me jolt up with a start. The sound was unbearable to listen to and I tried covering my ears as tight as I could. It was like a… high pitched scream that hurt my ears greatly. Even covering them up didn't help at all. "Oh god! Make it stop! Make it stop!" I beg, leaning over with my ears tight shut. I couldn't make out that this disturbing yet somehow saddening sound was bothering Tsume and Toboe. They don't know that my hearing is highly sensitive to sounds like this and it showed greatly. Whatever was being hurt certainly made us wolves feel it and I didn't like it at all.

Afterwhile, the sound slowly ceased, leaving nothing but our breathing and the various crickets that lived here. "Hey. Hey! Would you two snap out of it? It's over." Tsume said, getting our attention. I lifted my head and saw that it was still nighttime and found my ears throbbing from that ear piercing shriek of pain and despair. My head whipped left to right before I glance up at the grey wolf and the red wolf who were in their casual spots. Tsume was looking out the window while standing in between Toboe and I. "Holy crap… I'm not the only one who was hearing that right?" I question, breathing slightly heavy to get my heartbeat under control as it was erratically beating in my chest like a hammer. "No… I heard it too. Felt it even. Did you Tsume? It was so sad…" Toboe answered, having his hands lifted up slightly with a look of sorrow on his face.

"It was a machine, that's all." Tsume said in a assuring voice. I look over at him, my eyebrows slightly lowering in sympathy. He looked at the both of us for a moment before looking back up at the window with his right hand on his hip. "Could've been a old robot shutting down or something. Possibly breaking down." he continued in a somewhat distant voice. I sigh at what he said in disbelief. A part of me believed what his theory was but the other half of me… believed it was something else making that noise. It bothered me a lot… _In trying to fall asleep, I curl up in my wolf form with my wolf tail curling up in front of my wolf legs. My wolf eyes were half way open and I began to think of what the hell made that sound… or who made that sound._

The next day had arrived faster than I thought. That shrill of pain and sadness still lingered at the back of my head and I was trying to decipher who could've made that sound. It was one of a thousand possibilities around here. And to top it off, the scent of the Lunar Flower was gone also. Toboe, Tsume, and I were spending the morning eating some left over meat that Tsume had in this room which I didn't happen to see nor catch the scent of. I went through at least 3 pieces of it already and was working on number 4. While eating, I found myself thinking of why would I stay here any longer? With that scent being stagnant, what other reason was there? Absolutely nothing that I could think of at that point in time.

"So… what are you going to do now, Tsume? I mean you got anywhere you need to go?" Toboe asked inquisitively. Tsume looked like the type of wolf who'd be a loner and not wanting anything to do with the other wolves nor humans here. "Who knows?" Tsume answered, taking another bite from his piece of meat. "Luna, do you think we'll see Leara again?" Toboe asked me, getting me to look up at him. I just sighed and looked back down at my hunk of meat. "I don't know Toboe. I… don't think she'd want to see us after we showed what we really are. I saw her face, she looked terrified. Like every human here. It's why I never, ever befriended the humans because I knew they'd react that way." I say in all true honesty. Toboe's facial expression didn't falter when I said that.

"Well, if we go back to visit her, she might change her mind." Toboe theorized. He is such a naive pup… he doesn't get how humans treat us. Especially if they've never seen a wolf before. "You had to have seen the stupid look on her face. Heh, that girl totally pissed herself in seeing you guys." Tsume quoted in a mocking tone. Toboe got defensive at what Tsume said. "She was reeking in it." Tsume said with a half grin. I looked away from him with my eyes narrowed. "Why do you see the need to lie about everything? I know Luna and I aren't the only ones who heard it. You must've felt sad too! So quit lying and be honest with yourself!" Toboe scolded, his voice filled with anger. Toboe's not wrong. Tsume had to have felt what we felt last night. But he won't acknowledge that he did.

"Fine whatever. If you want to go then go. It's not like I care what happens to both of you." Tsume said, clearly hinting that he's conceited. I look up at him, moving my black bangs from my eyes. If he says that, then he should've left us for dead in that alley way. That makes no sense at all. "Well, if you think that way, then why did you save us in that alley way? If you don't give a damn about us then you should've left us to die by that damn hunter. We're not your friends or anything." I say, feeling agitated and confused. Tsume gave me a look that showed his hatred towards us. "You're right. You two are not my friends." he answered. So he was a lone wolf after all. He doesn't want to be with his own kind.

Toboe narrowed his eyes at Tsume before scolding him. "Yeah, right. You only befriend humans! Seems to be easier for you, isn't it? They'll never be as strong as you! They follow your lead like beaten down obedient puppies!" Toboe says in an angered tone. "Why don't you be with your own kind?! Don't you know that humans are terrified of wolves?" I add, digging my nails into the piece of meat that I still had in my hands. "You two don't know what the hell you're talking about! This city is dangerous! You two have no idea what that's like to survive here!" Tsume seethed, straight up pissing me off because he doesn't know me in the least bit. I have survived in the wild as well as passing through the city to city so I do know how to stay alive in both environments. It's him that doesn't have what it takes because he is under the impression that stealing and being a straight up thief with humans is how wolves survive. No that's not how wolves survive.

"Fine. Go on. Let's see how you two do on your own. GO!" he shouted in a demanding tone, chunking his piece of meat at us roughly. That made me jump. I glare at him before standing up. "Being alone doesn't bother you at all?" Toboe asked, looking back at him. Tsume glared at us for a moment before lifting his hand up. "Hey, I'm sorry. I'm sorry that I ever got stuck with a kid like you and a dumb she-wolf such as you." Tsume said, practically insulting us. I scoff at him and give him a pissed off glance. He's nothing but an selfish, arrogant asshole and the fact he said that proved that I now wanted nothing to do with him. I then walk out of the room in anger and don't even bother to make sure that Toboe was following me.

 _Later in the day, I found myself in another alleyway in my wolf form. The sun was beaming hot down on my black wolf fur and the ground was hot under my wolf paws. I had hunted down a bird that Toboe and I battled out yesterday and was munching on it to hold me over. And it tasted a little bit better than that junk Tsume had. I held it in between my wolf forepaws and just ate it slowly. "What does that asshole know about living? He doesn't have a damn clue." I said to myself as I ate. Soon enough, I hear the sounds of Toboe starting to munch on some of the garbage that those birds were guarding the other day. "You're telling me. He's a jerk." he told me, sounding just as irritated as I was._

 _Suddenly, the sound of metal hit our wolf ears. I lift my wolf head up as well as my wolf ears. It was a pothole and I saw who had opened it. "Hige? Is that you?" I call out, getting him to look at me with wide eyes._ "Hey! There she is! And she's with another one of us!" _Hige said with a grin before being lifted by Kiba out of the pothole. "_ Move it will you? That's the last time I trust your nose! _"_ _Kiba exclaimed, lifting himself out of the pothole and sitting on the edge of it. "_ Well, anyone's nose would go numb after a night in that stink hole! _"_ _Hige replied, sounding offended. Toboe seemed a bit scared and the look on his wolf face had a look of shock on it. "Are they wolves too?" Toboe asked me, not looking away from them. I turn my wolf head for a moment to look at him before responding. "Yeah they are." I respond calmly. I then notice how Kiba was looking past us with a stoic look on his face followed along another set of footsteps from behind us._

 _I turn my wolf body to look behind me and lower my wolf head to see Leara behind us. "Leara!" Toboe exclaimed. Right then, the human girl stopped in her tracks and began to shake in her boots. Her eyes widened at seeing two wolves in front of her. "Don't be scared. We won't do anything. We just wanted to see you again. I'm sorry… about your bird." Toboe said, lowering his wolf head in trying to show submission to the girl. I kept my wolf ears raised and my wolf eyes focused on her. "Daddy… Daddy, Daddy. DADDY!" she cried out in sheer panic. I begin to back up in my human form. She was going to give us away. "Come quick! It's the wolves! The wolves are here!" she shouted, causing me to bolt out of there._ The sound of my footsteps along with Hige's and Kiba's seemed to be the only sound that entered my ears.

Without a second thought, I turn down another alleyway and into a sewer pipe. It smelled horrible however, I had no choice. Then Hige and Kiba too come through and they meet up with me. "Where the hell have you been, Luna? We haven't seen you since early yesterday." Hige asked, looking at me with a grin. Straightening up, I pop my knuckles. "I've been around here. I had to find a place to spend the night because there's not many places around here in this dingy city." I answer, my hand on my right hip. "Heh. I'm surprised that you were able to avoid the idiots here." Hige said, seemingly impressed. "I've got my ways." I say with a smug attitude. Afterwards, Toboe joined the three of us and we begin descending deeper into the sewers. "Hey, runt. What's eatin' you?" Hige asked rudely. I twist my head around to face him considering I was between him and Kiba.

"I'm not a runt! My name's Toboe!" Toboe stated, offended by Hige's remark. He then catches up with us. "Heh. That's cool. I'm Hige and this is Kiba. I assume you already know Luna here." Hige pointed out. Out of the corner of my eye, I could see that Toboe was looking past him and past Hige. "Yeah. We met after I left you guys." I answer him, looking straight ahead. We continued on our way down the sewer. I still figured that we were going to this place known as Paradise. As I said way before, I never known much about it and it was the last thing on my mind. Why would I want to go to a place where any wolf would just run in circles for no reason in anyway? It doesn't make any sense. I guess the only reason I'm going there is because I want to get the hell out of this dingy city. "Hey where are we going?" Toboe asked curiously. "Where do you think? To the exit, of course!" Hige stated sarcastically. "We're going to Paradise." Kiba responded.

"Hey, do you two know of Tsume?" Toboe asked Hige and Kiba. I close my eyes and look off to the side with a sigh because that jerk didn't need to be brought up. Kiba stopped in his tracks at the sound of his name. "No. Never heard of him. Why? Is he a friend of you guys or something?" Hige said, turning his head back to look at the pup. "No. He isn't." I answer bluntly. Kiba too looks back at us, his coat collar partly covering his face. I could tell by his demeanor that he too had a rocky encounter with him also. "Is he the one with the scar on his chest?" Kiba asked aloofly, sounding like he wanted nothing to do with him. "Yeah! That's him." Toboe answered cheerfully. I look back at Toboe. "Toboe, why would you want him to go with us after the way he treated us back there?" I ask logically.

After the scummy way we were treated by that asshole, I wouldn't recommend on bringing him with us. He's probably one of those wolves who just doesn't give a damn about it or anyone around him. I believe that it's best that we just forget about him. But of course, from where this pup's concerned, I couldn't bring myself to be completely heartless to this pup. But his face did drop with a disappointed frown and he looked down at his feet. "Well… considering he's one of us, he should come too…" Toboe said sadly. I sigh in disbelief before walking ahead of the others. Before long, the scent of fresh blood hit my nose, making me stop in my tracks. I look down and notice that there was a small pool of blood on the concrete floor, next to a ladder.

"Shake a leg, runt." Hige sighed, walking past Kiba and I. "That's Toboe." I correct, looking back at Hige. The blood smelled fresh and I caught on quickly as to who that blood belonged to. It was Tsume's blood. I remain quiet and fell under the impression that Toboe was correct on seeing that Tsume needs to leave this city too. No wolf should stay in a city for this long and we all need to leave here. Even though I said, I wanted nothing to do with that sorry jackass anymore, he's still a wolf.

Soon after, the four of us had followed the blood trail. It had led us to a stray building that looked partly run down. When the four of us walked into the building inconspicuously, the blood kept going until we came to a seemingly old wooden door. His scent was profound here and I knew then that he was here. Kiba takes a gentle hold on the doorknob and opens the door. It opened with a creak. Once it was opened all the way, Kiba went in the room first. Then, me, Hige, and Toboe. I stand on Kiba's right side and see Tsume in his human form still and he had stood up from his leaning point on the cracked walls of this room the second he saw us. I took notice that he had a bite mark on his right arm that seemed to drip blood.

"What a crap heap. Why did you bring us here?" Hige asks before even bothering to take notice that Tsume was in the room too. "Tsume!" Toboe exclaimed, seeing the grey wolf. "Wha?! Is this him?!" Hige exclaimed, looking back and forth between us. All I did was coldly stare at him with my arms crossed. He didn't seem all that thrilled to see either of us as well. "What the hell are you doing here?!" Tsume seethed, more surprised then pissed. Kiba kept a rather cool expression on his face while he looked at Tsume. "We could smell your blood from across town." Kiba answered calmly. Tsume scoffed in a cold manner. "What are you going to do? Nurse me back to health?!" Tsume spat at us. No way in hell would I want to help a selfish, cold hearted wolf like him in the least bit. I just look away from him with a harsh scoff.

"Well, we're leaving the city. You should come with us." Toboe suggested, trying to adjudicate a potential argument. In a cynical groan Tsume says, "And where is this merry band of yours going?" "To Paradise." Kiba responds coolly. This answer only got Tsume to scoff in a cheek in tongue attitude. He must think that we're crazy for going to such a place. "You're kidding me right? You're really going because you believe in that crap?" he snorts arrogantly. "I don't know but… we'll have to remain in hiding the rest of our lives if we continue to stay with the humans. It's no way to survive." Toboe stated, getting his intelligent two cents in. He's right on that one because we can't keep living among the humans. This is not what wolves are supposed to do. With that scent gone, I don't see any reason to actually stay here anymore.

I keep looking down at my feet, not saying a word. "Tell me. Why did you guys come here to begin with? Was it because of the flower's scent? Well it's gone now. There's no reason to stay here anymore." Kiba explained to us carefully. He knows that we're attracted by that scent also. If it wasn't here, I wouldn't even bother coming here at all. I would've ran right by it. "I'm not here because of that. I'm here because I belong." Tsume pointed out in a scowl. "I can tell; this whole city's a waste." Kiba stated. Tsume looked at him with narrowed eyes and he walked over to Kiba. "I still have a score to settle with you." the grey wolf tells him, face to face with Kiba. I looked out of the window to see the human soldiers start to come to where we were in their trucks. "Make this quick guys!" I whisper loudly, looking down halfway at the oncoming soldiers. But they didn't seem to hear me and they continued to confront one another.

"Do you realize what leaving this city would mean? You'll only die." Tsume stated, narrowing his eyes even further. They looked like they were ready to fight. And it would seem that this wouldn't be the first time that these two have fought. "So what? Everyone's going to die. It's a natural part of life. But if life has no purpose then you're already dead." Kiba answered in a somewhat wise yet calm manner. He did have a point about that one and I'll have to hold him to that.

Suddenly, a bright white light filled the room with an illuminant of white light. Soon enough, the five of us bolt out of there all the while being shot at from the humans. I pumped my legs as hard as I could to get me to sprint across these slightly slick pipes. The sound of the incessant bullets ricocheting of the bending metal echoed loudly in my ears and it nearly made me slip off the pipe that I was on. I didn't even bother to see where the others were. It was scary enough being shot at but actually stopping to see where they were would result in death,  
I know it.

Not soon enough, we make it to the outside of this dingy domed city. The wind was blowing extremely hard and it blew my hair and clothes in every which way. Only Kiba, Hige, Toboe, and I had jumped. When I looked up at the top, I saw that Tsume was the only one who hadn't jumped. From down here, I could tell that he looked… hesitant to leave this city. "Tsume, come on jump!" Toboe shouted over the wind. I kept my eyes on him as if I was in some stare down with him. "Are you scared or something?" I say in a smartass tone. Tsume looked down at me before smirking. "Yeah right." he answered before jumping down to where I was. We're a pack now and although we may not agree to certain terms, we'll agree to look after one another… as a family.


	5. Chapter 5 Fortress of Solitude

_It was snowing again and we all run through it in wolf form. All that was left behind was pawprints we left imprinted in the snow. I was the third one behind. Tsume was on my right and I finally saw his wolf form for the first time. He was dark grey with a light grey mask with golden green eyes. Hige was a couple of inches in front of me while Toboe was in the very back. Kiba was leading us out of there. The wind was blowing through my black wolf fur and my pawpads were cold against the snow. I also kept my wolf ears raised so I could listen to the wind. The only thing that sucked about this pack is that I'm the only female while the others are males but, what else could we do at this time? Plus, we were a mix mash of white, dun, red, grey, and black._

 _A couple of days pass by. We ran from under the warm sunset, to a stormy desert, and to a scorching hot desert. It sucked most for me because I have black fur and because of what wolf I am, I have a thick coat. My wolf head was lowered from the heavy heat that was weighing us down. My wolf tongue hung out from how hot it was and the sand was hot against my wolf paws. We make it through and it had begun to snow once again. It sooned started to die down when we started to approach the outskirts of what appears to be another town._

We stood in front of it in human form because I could tell that there were humans here. I just stare it with a confused expression on my face. "Why're we even here? I thought we'd avoid weird looking towns all together." Tsume said. "There's something here. I can feel it." Kiba answered, looking at the town. I turn my head to look at him with a raised eyebrow. How can there be anything here when this place looks half dead to me. Even the entrance way had trees on both sides and a trail split it up. The town alone looked like blocked versions of those sand dunes that we were in the other day. Not much to say about it really.

"Well, there's definitely food here. But no flowers if that's what you're smelling." Hige stated, sniffing the air. I lean forward to look at the dun wolf. He is really attracted by not only female wolves but also food. And his chubbiness surely shows of how much he eats. That's all I know of him so far. For a moment, I believed we were okay with staying here for a little bit. However, my theory was proven false when the sudden scent of gunpowder filled my nose, causing me to freeze. "Guys… I think there's-" I started before bullets cut me off. I covered my face in reaction to keep the bullets from hitting me.

"Shi-!" Tsume sweared, doing his best to avoid the airborne bullets. " _RAT TAT RAT TAT!'_

Was all I was hearing in my ears at that point in time. We all used our wolf agility to quickly avoid the bullets. I use my right foot to help me swiftly bounce off of one of the trees and I had my arms spread out slightly and my head was turned to the right. I ended up hiding behind a tall bush with a tree to help me stay hidden. The others, I had no clue where they were. I press my back against the tree and pant heavily. Suddenly, a sharp pain struck me in my leg, causing me to yell in agonizing pain with my eyes shut tightly and my teeth clenched so hard that I felt that they would possibly break within my mouth. I quickly grab it in instinct and fall onto my right side.

"Ow… Ow shit…" I groaned in pain as I breathed heavily and erratically. In opening my eyes, I slowly remove my right hand from my leg to see… blood. Those bastards shot me… And it unbelievably worried me that the others might be shot too. So much blood was oozing from my wound and it was making me feel so nauseous to the point where I couldn't even move. As much as I wanted to move from that spot, it hurt so much to do so and every single inch of movement I made was like hell on earth for me. "OUTSIDERS. GO HOME." a booming voice ordered. My breathing grew heavier and heavier by the minute and I was on the urge of passing out. But my dizziness wasn't going to stop me from trying to get up.

With as much strength as I had, I push myself up to a sitting position and it hurt so much to do so. "Gotta… keep… moving." I breathe to myself as I used the tree as leverage to help me stand. As I looked down at my wound, I could see that the bullet deeply cut my leg so I knew it had not gone through. I then heavily limp out of my hiding spot with a pained grunt to go with it. My vision was garbled up and I couldn't make out where I was going. Even the nausea was setting in and I held my stomach. "Where… are the… others?" I question myself, not being able to see the other wolves. Even my own voice was distorted and I was seeing double.

Coming up to a tree, my foot carelessly caught one of the roots and I tripped over it. "Agh!" I cry out, feeling myself hit the hard ground. I end up hitting my head on the ground and I let out a pained grunt in feeling it. As I started to pass out, I could make out the form of someone but I don't know who it was. " _Miss… Miss… are you alri…"_ they tried talking to me but I passed out before they finished what they said. It was all a blur after that. I couldn't remember what happened…

In waking up, I seemed to find myself in what appears to be… a human facility or something like that. I jolt up to a sitting position in a yell. My arms were used to hold my body up and I scanned the room with my widened eyes. "Where the hell am I?" I say, taking note that I wasn't where I passed out. Just as I said that, a human walked in with what appeared to be a long white coat on with some glass things on his face. "Take it easy miss. I'm not going to harm you. You're just in the hospital wing." he stated, trying to calm me down. I take a deep breath before looking down at my wounded leg. It had tight wrapped bandage around it and a dark red slit was visible. "Did you fix my leg?" I ask, looking from my leg to the human. "Yes. You were bleeding badly and I found you by a tree by our village. The people here are one not to trust outsiders." he answered, walking over to me. "No kidding… they shot me and possibly my friends too. I have no clue as to where they might be…" I say before suddenly coming to a realization that the others were still missing. "Have you seen my friends too?! Are they here?!" I question, seeming frantic. The human seemed confused for a moment at what I said. "Your friends? You mean the four boys that were shot at with you?" he asked. I nod quickly. "Oh yeah. They scattered somewhere here in the village." he answered. That didn't help me at all considering they could be shot like me.

"I have to find them! They could be hurt!" I shout, swinging my legs over the surface I was laying on, ignoring the soreness in my leg. The human noticed my sudden actions and he tried pushing me back down on the surface I laid on. "Don't touch me…" I say, feeling myself freeze up when he came near me. "But, you aren't well enough to move." he said, continuing to approach me. He then puts his hands on my shoulders in an attempt to make me lay down. My instincts were telling me to jump out the window and find them because I couldn't leave them there to potentially get killed by these careless assholes. I also hated being touched and controlled like what this human is doing. "I said, _don't touch me_!" I shout, growling wolf-like. I jump up and suddenly bite the human's arm with my wolf fangs, which appeared.

He yelled out of both pain and shock when I bit him. I look at the human with hatred in my eyes and I saw that blood was on his torn open arm. I then stand up and limp over to the opened window and I climb on the window sill of it. When I look back at the human, he had a scared look in his eyes. "You… you… you're not human." he stuttered. I turn half way to look at the frightened human. "You're right. I'm not a human. I'm a wolf." I vaguely stated. The human was utterly shocked by my reveal and I honestly admired the look on his face before using my wolf agility to jump out of the window without a second thought.

 _I landed on the ground in my wolf form swiftly. It didn't hurt when I landed either. The second I landed, I begin to run through the forest part of this village. My wolf eyes narrow and my wolf tail flew behind me as I continued to run. Jumping over a few logs, I make it to a new level of the village so I was made visible to any human who happened to notice me, a large black she-wolf, upon their village. My knicked wolf ears were raised all the way while my wolf legs were slightly spread apart as I looked down at the village with my golden wolf eyes._

"Up there! There's another beast!" _the voice of another frantic human shouted, pointing up to where I am. I just camly stare at them. "_ Luna!" _Toboe shouted. I could see him from my right side. He was in his human form before more bullets were suddenly shot at me. I quickly turn my wolf body around and bolt in the other direction with my wolf tail flying behind me once again as well as my black wolf fur. At least Toboe is safe from what I could see. I needed to find Kiba, Tsume, and Hige. In coming to another corner, I spot a grey wolf and a solid white wolf seeming to confront each other. Kiba was on the second level of the village while Tsume was on the lower level. "Tsume! Kiba! I'm glad you two are okay." I say, running up to where Tsume was. Tsume turned his wolf head to look at me as well as Kiba. "I wish I could say the same for you. You shouldn't have found me or that idiot up there. There's no point in going any further." Tsume growled, slightly baring his wolf fangs._

" _Those humans don't want us here. We got to get the hell out of here." I say, before lifting my wolf head to look at the white wolf above us. "Look, whatever you seemed to find here was pointless! We got to leave whether you like it or not! Coming here was a complete waste of time!" I shout, pointing my wolf ears all the way to show dominance. Kiba lifted his wolf head in surprise at my dominance but he didn't say anything. He knew that I was right and he needed to get that through his thick skull._

 _Soon enough, we ended up finding Hige, who was eating a piece of meat in his wolf form. The five of us all then leave that stupid village behind and we never looked back. Kiba, once again took the lead and I was the fourth wolf behind because of my sore hind leg. Tsume was behind me while Hige was the second wolf behind Kiba and Toboe being in the middle. We didn't intend on going there but it was completely pointless of actually going there. The only thing that I enjoyed of being there was scaring the shit out of that one human who actually helped me. He was threatening me and I did what a wolf does when they feel threatened. But… we all put that village behind us and continued to move on once again as a pack._


	6. Chapter 6 Scars of the Wasteland

_After ditching that village, we continued to run again in another blizzard in wolf form. The wind had picked up some but not as bad as the last time that we ran through a snowstorm. None of us spoke a single word to each other because of what the hell happened back in that town. And the fact those humans had harmed me didn't exactly help since I didn't seem to hide myself in time to avoid that from happening but I seemed to have the confidence and bravery to get myself out of that humans clutches. I honestly don't care that he helped me. I just wanted out of there and to get back to my friends. I'm telling them that befriending humans only leads to trouble and I didn't want to want to stay for that sort of trouble._

 _In the meantime, we had made it into a cave that was big enough to fit all five of us in here._ We sat in it in human form and I had my injured leg stretched out while my other one was bent upwards. I was exhausted and I leaned my head back against the slightly frozen structure of the cave. I sat in between Toboe and Tsume, who was on a flat rock that was in here. My leg was also sore and it felt extremely heavy from us running so much. "Oh man… I sure am hungry." Toboe sighs. "Yeah. You're not the only one." Hige agreed lazily. I open my eyes and turn my head to look at him. He looked to be just as tired as I was. They were discussing on how long it had been since we had ate. And I honestly didn't care about food at that point in time. All I cared about was resting my leg.

"Would you two stop whining? It's only been three stupid days." Tsume grumbled, getting to be just as irritated as me. "Yeah, but we would've found food if we hadn't left that city." Toboe said, lifting his head to look at Tsume. "We can last a lot longer if we bask in the moonlight." Kiba said, getting our attention. I lifted my head at what he said and I furrowed my eyebrow. How was basking in the moonlight going to help a wolf survive? That's really weird in my opinion. "I traveled a full month that way." Kiba continued, catching only Hige off guard. "Did you say a month?!" he exclaimed in surprise. Just the mention of food made my stomach quietly growl and I let my head lean back against the wall of the cave. It got me to realize how long it had been since I had ate something. Those damn birds from Freeze City didn't seem to fill me up so we need to find food soon but I didn't say anything to bring it up.

"Well, if worse comes to worse we can always eat each other." Tsume suggests in a smug way. This catches all of our attention and my eyes widen. He must be out of his damn mind if he thinks that I'm resorting to cannibalism just to stay alive. "We can start off with the runt since since he's so weak. And of course there's always porky over there." Tsume continued, a smug grin on his face. I just raise an eyebrow at him. Was he just kidding or was he being serious because I can't tell by the tone in his voice. "Wait a minute, how come Kiba and Luna aren't on the menu?" Toboe asked, seemingly offended by what Tsume suggested. Tsume sat up at that and looked at the both of us. "Because the guy's totally full of crap and this she-wolf was dumb enough to get herself shot by the humans in that village." Tsume answered coldly, looking from Kiba to me. Needless to say, it did piss me off and I jerk my head towards him. "Excuse me? How am I dumb?" I spat back, anger written all over my voice. The grey wolf looks at me with an ugly stare but doesn't answer me. His arrogance seems to blind him.

"Hey, come on. Stop it would you? You guys are just hungry! You don't mean what you're saying!" Toboe pipes in, standing up in order to break up the petty argument between us. Before anything else was said, Hige suddenly takes off bolting into the snow in his wolf form, leaving his wolf paw prints behind. It was as if a sudden rush of energy just abruptly made its way into his veins or something. It confused me for a moment before it dawned on me. He must've caught the scent of food or something. Soon enough, the rest of us follow him and he had led us to the remains of a deer carcass. The more I looked at it, the more hungry I was getting.

 _Everyone but Tsume stood in wolf form. I looked down at the deer carcass intently with my wolf ears pointed up all the way. "I wonder where it came from. I mean it's all by its self out here." Toboe wondered quietly, more to himself than the rest of us. Hige took a step forward with his left fore wolf paw and put his wolf nose to the carcass to sniff it. "_ Are you going to eat that?" _Tsume questioned. Hige turned his wolf head around to look at Tsume for a moment. "Aren't you?" Hige answered. My stomach continued to growl loudly and I couldn't help myself at this point. I put one of my wolf forepaws on the back of the deer and I instantly begin to dig into the deer; eating ravenously. Hige, Toboe, and Kiba did also and I didn't pay much attention to how much I ate._

" _You know what? This stuff is pretty good. It's just a little bit tougher than hamburger." Toboe stated, using his wolf fangs to pull another piece of meat off the deer before looking back at Tsume with his wolf ears raised. "Hey, come on Tsume, get you some! We still have a long way we have to go." Toboe continued, turning back to take another bite with his wolf jaws open before Tsume stopped us._ "Go? Go where exactly?" _Tsume coldly says. I lift my wolf head up with a piece of the deer meat in my wolf jaws and I raise my wolf ears._ "To that Paradise place? Off in the direction you smelled the flower?" _Tsume coldly states_. _I flatten my knicked wolf ears some before finishing my piece of meat that I had in my wolf jaws._

We sit in human form and I lifted my body up to straighten my back up and sucked in a deep breath because I ate a lot on the deer as if I was hibernating so that told me to not eat any more of it. "Tsume…" Toboe said, before looking to Kiba, who just was kneeled over the deer while keeping quiet because he didn't say anything the whole time that we were out here. To be fair, I haven't said anything either because what could I say? I couldn't just blurt out a response to his thoughts on Paradise because in all honesty, I kind of have the same feelings for it as he does. No one knows that if it does exist or not so I do have my doubts so Kiba, being the supposed wolf trying to find it, is pretty much chasing his own damn tail for nothing. It doesn't make sense. I know wolves can't stay in one spot for so long but we don't need to set our sights in that place. Even though I don't see myself actually going there, I just kept myself quiet and didn't say a single word to no one here.

"Kiba, what's Paradise really like?" Toboe asked inquisitively to the white wolf. "It's an amazing place! The flowers are always in bloom, and the food is always abundant! And there's beautiful babes there too." Hige pipes in, glancing over to me with a wink. I just give him a disapproving stare to show that I, in no way in hell, am I ready for a mate. He seemed to get the hint when Toboe got hyped up at what he said. "Well, I hope so at least." he said, chuckling nervously. That brought the excitement down from the young wolf, which wasn't that surprising to me because it's not the first time that I've heard it from my late pack.

"Paradise is nothing but a damn fairytale. If it isn't, then it's just some idiots dream." Tsume scoffed at the idea of Paradise being real. "Well, if you think that, then why the hell did you come with us?" I ask, feeling confused at what he said. If Tsume thinks Paradise is nothing but that, why the hell did he bother coming with us? I don't get it at all. Toboe turned around to face Tsume. "Well, we won't know unless we look for it." Toboe proclaimed, slightly lifting his arms. However, the young wolf's answer doesn't bode well with Tsume and I narrow my eyes at what he said. "How far are you going to let this guy string you along? How far are you going to follow him in pursue in a place that doesn't even exist to begin with?" Tsume spat, the tone in his voice seeming to get more agitated and angrier with each passing word that exited his mouth. When none of us answered his question, he growled at us and turned away from us. "That's it! I can't put up with you losers and this dumb bitch anymore!" he growled. That insult right there caught me off guard and I jumped back in disbelief. I know that insult was directed to me considering I'm the only she-wolf in this small wolf pack out of 5 wolves.

He then turned around to have his back towards us and he began to walk away from us with his thumbs in his pockets. "Hey, where do you think you're going all by yourself?!" Hige called out, raising up a bit. "To look for hell I guess." Tsume coldly responds, not stopping. "Suit yourself." Kiba finally spoke, getting me to look at him. Tsume looked back at him with a cold stare in his golden green eyes. I could tell that he didn't seem to care on what Kiba was going to say next. "But remember, those rules that you had back in the city doesn't apply way out here." the white wolf continued. At this, Tsume only growled and spat back at him, "It really pisses me off when smug kids like you have that know it all look on their face and yet their actually clueless." Kiba narrowed his eyes at what the grey wolf said before walking off with a angry scoff. "Tsume, come on! Don't leave now we finally made some friends!" Toboe called out. Tsume just kept on walking without looking back at us. "Have your little playdate without me. I'm out of here." he growled, his image getting intentionally smaller and smaller as he walked away from us.

I just sighed at this and shake my head at how he acted towards us. "If you ask me, he's acting more like the pup than us." Hige sighed, not agreeing at all with how Tsume's attitude was thrown towards us. "Don't say that. I like Tsume. He's nice." Toboe said, looking off to where Tsume walked off to. "I wouldn't say that because of what he said to us." I say, shaking my head. Toboe looked back at me with a slight angry glare. "Come on. Let's go after him." he suggested. I sit up at that because I partly believed that Tsume was just already done with being with us and putting off Paradise as a whole however, I'm not a cold hearted wolf and I just couldn't bring myself to say no to him. I just sigh and stand up with a grunt because of my leg still being sore from being shot. I look back down at Hige and Kiba for a moment.

"We'll be back soon." I tell them before Toboe and I take off in Tsume's direction in a run. It didn't take us very long to find the grey wolf, who was still in his human form with one hand on his hip as he walked. "Hey, wait for us Tsume!" Toboe called. Once we caught up with him, I kept my pace fastened as I walked, well actually limped. "What are you so mad about for huh? Come back would you?" Toboe persisted, looking at Tsume's back. "Shut the hell up!" Tsume growled in an angry voice. "Stop with the pissy attitude okay? You'll get yourself killed out here because those humans could be on our case!" I scold, looking up at him too. "You don't know that! We're always alone so it doesn't matter! So you shut the hell up as well!" Tsume growled at me, seeming to get more pissed by the minute. Toboe tried to grab a hold of him by grabbing his muscular arm however, Tsume quickly turned and shoved the young wolf back onto his ass with a grunt. I end up back up a bit in reaction while swinging my arms a bit.

"Both of you don't follow me." Tsume growled, looking kind of guilty of doing what he did before taking off in a run in his wolf form, leaving us there in the gutter. I sigh and get to my knees to Toboe's height. "You okay?" I ask, putting a hand on his back. The young wolf looked up at me with a defeated glance. "Yeah. I'm fine." he answered. I extended my hand to help him up to his feet and he instantly took it. "Let's go after him. For one, I can sense that something might go wrong here." I proclaim, looking around as I talked. I was being honest about what I just said because my gut was telling me that something was going to potentially happen while Kiba and Hige were left back with the deer carcass. So we would have to find Tsume so he wouldn't get himself killed. Because I can kind of tell that he seemed to have spent most of his time in the city surviving off of humans skills by stealing from them in cunning ways. However, I for one, survived mostly on the opened world and hunting down whatever I can find. I only stayed in the city for a few days before leaving.

A few hours roll by and the sun began to set as Toboe and I began our search for Tsume. The environment we were in was a cross between an abandoned city that looked sunken into the ground and the desert. Surrounding us was old equipment that humans used like tanks and stuff like that that seemed to decay over the course of time. The scent of it wasn't pleasant however, we would have to deal with it. "Tsume! Tsume!" Toboe called, cupping his hands together to call for Tsume. The grey wolf wasn't anywhere near here, especially his scent didn't seem to be here either.

 _We walk in wolf form and the sand beneath our wolf paws was really warm and the sun hitting my black wolf fur made me feel hot. I lower my wolf nose to the ground to sniff for his scent. "His scent isn't here." I say, lifting my wolf head and I looked ahead with my wolf ears lifted all the way. The wind softly blew through our fur and it honestly felt very good along with the setting sun. "He's got to be here somewhere…" Toboe stated, looking around with his wolf eyes open all the way. Looking ahead, I suggested that we keep going straight ahead in hopes of finding something. Toboe had agreed with me. But before we continued on, I lift my right wolf forepaw and place it in front of me and suddenly hear a click, getting the both of us to freeze for a solitary moment. In lifting up my wolf forepaw so that it was in the air slightly, the two of us caught that it was some old metal thing that was stuck in the ground. We thought nothing of it and kept moving, trotting to the decaying city in front of us._

 _My wolf tail swished back and forth and I kept my wolf head partly lowered as I trotted along the sandy colored ground while Toboe ran ahead of me some; his bracelets jingling as he ran. His reddish brown fur was perfect under the sun. Once we made it into the silent, decaying city, Toboe got on a blocky, sandy catwalk from the looks of it and I stood on it too so that we were beside one another. My wolf tail stuck out half way as I turned my wolf head back and forth to inspect the area. "Aaaarrroooo!" Toboe howled, letting it echo throughout the dead city. "Tsume! Stop hiding! Don't be dumb!" I call out, catching a whiff of his scent. My wolf ears twitched back and forth when I caught an unfamiliar sound. Something… robotic in a way._

Standing in human form, I was partly behind Toboe but was able to see what was in front of us. Just when I believe things were okay, Toboe and I were suddenly grabbed by none other than Tsume; just as rapid bullets were fired at us and the sounds echoed in my ears as we fell to another flooring. What the hell was that about?

Night time fell about an hour later and the three of us were running along a different part of this dead city. Toboe seemed to catch that Tsume was limping badly on his left leg and some of his blood was dripping behind him, leaving a trail that showed where we were before. As he limped, his heavy, pained grunts didn't hide it. "Are you okay?" Toboe asked, catching up with him but only to get pushed back by Tsume. "Stay away!" the grey wolf growled. I was on his left side and was limping too but not as back as him. When I looked behind me, I could see that something was coming after us. And from the sounds of it, it sounded metallic.

"Shit… something's coming." I swear, feeling my heart beating from adrenaline. We come to an edge that led to total darkness below and before looking back, the metal thing began to fire bullets at us without a second thought. We all jumped down the cavern to safety and the bullets forced us to hide behind a large piece of rubble so we wouldn't be seen. It's like that thing could see that we are wolves. We looked around the piece of rubble subtley to see what exactly was shooting at us. Since I was between Tsume and Toboe, I had a clear view of it. It was a large military robot… and it was searching for us so it can kill us. "What the heck is that thing?!" Toboe exclaimed, seeing it as well me. "Damn robot… we can't let it see us." I say, clenching my teeth. Tsume didn't say nothing but only clench his teeth from the pain in his leg, causing Toboe and I to look down. That would looked just as bad as mine when I got shot.

"Damn it… the stench of this place is starting to make me sick…" Tsume grunted, baring his teeth from the pain in his leg. He then gets up without any effort and begins to limp away. Toboe and I follow behind him, each of us being on one side of him. As we walked, I frequently looked behind us to see if that robot was trying to catch up with us. And sure enough, it was because I could hear it in the distance. When I looked at Tsume, it kind of amazed me that he actually saved Toboe and I from being shot down by that robot. You'd think that a cold and aloof wolf such as him would even think about doing. He actually brought himself to save a she-wolf and a pup that he hardly knows and it kind of surprised me in a sense that I didn't expect to see that side of him.

Afterwhile, the robot was tailing us and we resorted to running because of that damn robot being on our tails. It was coming in fast now and I knew that we had to hide somewhere and fast before we all get ourselves killed. My leg was throbbing heavily because of how much running we had to do and frankly, it made me want to stop but my instincts were telling us to keep on moving if we want to stay alive. Once we make it to another steep cliff, that robot had caught up with us and I felt my heart pound out of my chest because I believed we would meet our fates here. It fired something large at us and it made the edge of the cliff crumble into pieces, causing the three of us to fall beneath the earth below. I let out a yell because of how high it was.

I didn't realize that I had fallen unconscious at the end of the fall because my vision was blurred severely. "Ugh… agh… what the hell?" I groan, trying to make sense of where I was. I push myself up to a sitting position with my right hand holding my head while my left hand held me up and I didn't realize that my body weight was this heavy especially after first waking up after being unconscious for so long. And the problem was, I don't know how long I was knocked out for. It wasn't until the sound of Toboe licking Tsume's wound brought me back to reality and I quickly turn my head to look at him. It didn't take Tsume long to wake up with a grunt. Toboe had both hands on Tsume's wounded leg while he licked it.

"Stop that!" Tsume shouted, roughly shoving the pup off him, "Don't ever touch me…" Toboe ends up looking down at his knees in defeat. I look ahead at the outside of the cave, feeling myself calm down just a bit because we had lost that damn robot. Toboe must've gotten us to safety which I much appreciate. "What's it doing?" Tsume wondered, looking ahead. "It's not after us. It looks like we gave it a slip." Toboe answered, looking from him to the mouth of the cave. Thank god for that and I stood up to go to the mouth of it to get a better look. When I sit down by the right wall, I pull both of my legs up to my chest so that my arms could rest on them. I push my bangs on both of my ears so that the knicks in my ears were exposed. They didn't go unnoticed however.

"Wow, you guys are covered in scars. And the ones on your ears Luna, those look cool like your scar Tsume!" Toboe enthusiastically declared. I let out a mixed sigh of anger and sadness because I absolutely despise talking about my scarred ears because it only reminded me of the cowardice that I suffered when I lost my pack. I don't want to discuss that. When I looked over my shoulder half way, Tsume had turned over to his right side so that he had his back to Toboe. He seemed to be offended of what Toboe said too. It looks like we got something in common but I found it to not be the right time to point it out. My eyes narrow as I look outside into the desolate, icy apocalyptic land that laid in front of us. It made me wonder what all the animals, the humans, and the wolves went through and how many have died in this area because I didn't want to be next on the list. "I wonder what happened to Kiba and Hige. They're probably worried about us by now." Toboe stated, looking outside.

"I don't trust anyone." Tsume said, breaking the silence around. I look back at him halfway and just watched him as he continued to talk. "And with that, no one has to trust me. That way it keeps things nice and simple." he finished in a seemingly angry tone. I could help but feel a hint of sympathy for him because it got me to wonder, what had he gone through to be this aloof towards Toboe and I? I laid my head on my crossed arms and closed my eyes in hopes of clearing my head however that was short lived when the distant sound of booming footsteps. It didn't bother me until the sound grew louder and louder in our ears. Then, it was so loud that we all jumped up to a sitting position in a gasp. I look around the cave and instantly back up when I saw it was that same robot from before. It had found us.

"It found us guys!" I say, backing up to where they were. Tsume growled at what I said and could also hear the mechanic sounds of that damn robot. "Damn it!" he growled, trying to stand up, only to be pushed back down by Toboe. "No Tsume! You'll get yourself killed out there!" Toboe exclaimed, keeping a good hold on him. Tsume smirked and looked up at the entrance. "Well then, you and Luna will finally have something to eat." he said in a smug manner. I jump back at what he said because he can't be serious about still resorting to cannibalism. "No way Tsume! That's pure stupidity!" I exclaim, still going against it. Toboe then stands up and begins to run to the door. "Toboe, what are you doing?!" I cry, stopping him in his tracks. The young wolf turns around to look at the two of us and I saw the determination on his face. "I'll be a decoy and distract it while you two run!" he declared, getting both me and Tsume to jump up.

"Don't do it!" Tsume cried out, his eyes widening. He looks back at us again; this time giving us a softened glance with a warm smile. He's actually wanting to do this so we'd make it out safely because he could also be killed in distracting it and that's what scares me. But I had no choice but to comply to what Toboe was going to do in order to protect us. "You guys can trust me. It's okay." he said assuringly. I couldn't help but smirk some.

And with that, Toboe had run out of the cave in a sprint while I helped Tsume up to his feet and to my surprise, he actually let me do that because of the adrenaline that he was going through at that point in time. Hadn't that robot found us, he would push me away and go off on his own to do god knows what. After that, we ran in in the opposite direction as Toboe and we winded up limping away from the robot. _The two of us run in our wolf forms. The ground was cold against my wolf paws and it pushed through my thick, black wolf fur. My wolf ears were raised all the way so I could hear what was going on around us. I thought it was only our wolf claws however, the dreaded sound of the robot filled our wolf ears._

 _Off to our right, we saw that damn robot shooting at Toboe with relentless rounds. When it spotted us, we took off in the right direction and we ran into a narrow passageway as it begins to fire bullets at us. "Go! Go now!" Tsume shouted as the robot shot at the wall of ice in an attempt to shoot and kill us. When we make it through, we were suddenly blown away_ from the passageway in our human forms when it fired a bomb or something at us. I landed on my right side and felt the throbbing pain in both my ears and leg when I landed and I squeezed my eyes shut from the pain. That explosion was very loud and it hurt my ears so bad. Then, the sound of that large gun made me snap fully awake and I jump up to a sitting position and found that I wasn't that far off from where Tsume landed during that explosion. That robot was pointing directly at him which sent protective instincts through me.

 _I growl and jump in front of him in my wolf form with my wolf fangs bared at the robot. My wolf legs were spread out so that I stood in a fighting stance with my wolf tail standing up as well as my wolf hackles. Even though Tsume was a hard ass to Toboe and I earlier in the day, I couldn't leave him here to die like this especially when he's injured like this. I'd rather die protecting my own kind than being selfish about saving my own skin. That's not what a wolf does; they protect their pack._

 _Suddenly, the sound of another wolf's howl caught my attention as well as the sudden appearance of Kiba running at the robot in top speed in wolf form with his wolf fangs bared some as he prepares to attack the robot. When the robot turned its attention to Kiba, it barely had any time to react as Kiba used his hind back legs to leap into the air in a loud snarl with his wolf fangs bared. He latches himself to the robot and gave Tsume the perfect opportunity to escape._

Smoke rose up and we shifted to our human forms and watched in shock that Kiba now had the robot fully on him so it didn't pay any attention to Tsume and I. The two of us exchanged glances for a moment. And during that solitary moment, I happened to catch the look on Tsume's face. He was shocked at the fact a she wolf such as myself would risk her life to keep a wolf she barely knows safe as well as an acquaintance who also put his life on the line for him. It was as if he expected us to just leave him there and let suicide take over him. "Tsume! Luna!" Hige's voice pulled us out of our trance. We look up to see the tan wolf in his human form on another ice ledge. He gestured for us to come with him. "This way!" he called out. And we did just that.

 _Along with Tsume, we used our wolf agility to pounce on the ice ledges in our wolf forms. The wind blew past my wolf face and it was hard to keep my wolf eyes open so I could see where I was going. Tsume had a bit of trouble getting to the top of the cliff because of his wound on his hind leg._

Once we made it to where Hige and Toboe were, we waited for Kiba's return because he needed to be with us and to be honest, I did fear that that robot would end his life unfairly. He had put his own life on the line to protect both Tsume and I. He didn't have to do that but… he apparently didn't want us to get killed. At least he's sensible and isn't as aloof and distant as I thought him to be. I had my back to the others and watched the sun start to rise, bathing the snow and icy land in it's warm, golden light. I closed my eyes and let the sun warm me and breathed in the frosty air. Just then, I hear the footsteps of Kiba approaching us. When I opened my eyes, I saw the white wolf slightly limp to where we were in his human form.

"Hey, you okay?" Hige asked him as he walked over to us. "It's just a scratch." Kiba vaguely answered, stopping a couple of steps from me. "Pssh, yeah right. There's nothing but trouble with you." Hige scoffed. "I knew it. Well, I wasn't sure but… I had a feeling you two would come back for us." Toboe said, looking down. Hige turned his head to look at the young wolf with a furrowed eyebrow. I can honestly say that Toboe is one of the most optimistic wolves that I have ever met. "Why did you do that?" Tsume grumbled, sitting down with his back facing towards us. The four of us look down at the grey wolf. "Why would you Luna and him risk your lives to save someone like me? You should've ran when you had the chance. And don't go off and say it's because we're friends." Tsume continued, taking note of what Kiba and I did.

"Tsume, unlike you, I do have a heart and I'm not letting a wolf get killed like that. You should be thankful that I stood in front of you and Kiba coming out of nowhere to distract it." I reply, defending Kiba and I's actions. Tsume looked back at me for a moment with his usual narrowed angry glance but only for a moment. Kiba mentioned that it was just his instinct to come and protect us and how it wouldn't ever be simple enough to protect our own. When Tsume stood up, Toboe immediately saw he was having trouble walking and he quickly ran up to him to help him walk by putting Tsume's arm over his shoulders. The grey wolf looked back at Kiba and me for a moment before he and Toboe walked on. I then join them by walking ahead of both Hige and Kiba. _We continued on walking this deserted plain in our wolf forms. Once again being a mish mash of wolves. Going from white, grey, black, red, and dun. I kept my knicked wolf ears slightly lowered and my wolf tail limply laid behind me. The only question was… what was going to happen next on our treacherous journey for us wolves?_


	7. Chapter 7 Fallen Wolves

__A few days strolled by us and the five of us were now running through a fresh blanket of snow that had fallen the previous night. As we ran, we left our wolf paw prints to signify where we had been prior and humans would disregard them as being wolf paw prints. I was running on Tsume's right side but and inch behind him while Kiba took the lead, Hige was on Tsume's left and Toboe was in the back of the pack. My wolf ears remained pointed up and my wolf tail flew behind me as I ran and my golden wolf eyes remained what was in front of me. In all honesty, it still bugged me that I was the only female wolf in this pack but I still had to remain optimistic about the potential being of this pack expanding.  
__  
After putting many miles behind us from where we had faced that treacherous robot, we decided to rest a while on a plain white area so we'd have the energy to get to our next destination. I was sitting in between Hige and Tsume with my right arm holding me up while my other hand was resting gently on my legs, which were bent slightly underneath me. Tsume was laying on his back with his hands behind his head, Toboe and Kiba had their legs crossed with their arms resting in their laps while Hige used his arms to hold himself up and his legs were out in front of him. Not long after we had stopped, Toboe begun to tell us the tale of a dream he had about Paradise. It was along the lines of his human taking care of us with music and food along with Lunar Flowers surrounding us. I raised an eyebrow at what Toboe said because I don't know what those flowers look like because I've never seen one with my own eyes before.

"Uh, Toboe, not to disregard of what you're saying but… Do you even know what a Lunar Flower even looks like?" I ask, narrowing my eyes in confusion. The smile on his face slowly faded as I said this because I'm making it sound like he's crazy about that dream he had. "Um… no not really." he said, looking shy as he looked down at his lap. "What you're saying sounds like nothing more than a city coffee shop to me." Hige pointed out. "It looks like you'll be happy being a pet even in Paradise." Tsume scoffed, still disapproving of Toboe being tamed by that human. All I did was roll my eyes in response to that because who's he to say how Toboe wants to live? We don't have a say really. "But… it's true! It made me think that it was actually Paradise! But describing it is the hardest part…" Toboe exclaimed, looking back down. "Tsh, well with your brain, you can't expect much." Hige shrugged. I have a gander at Hige with a raised eyebrow. "Speak for yourself, Mr. All I Can Eat." I say, proud of what I said. Hige now looked embarrassed because sometimes he uses his brain either to find food or finding females. "Cut me some slack, would you? Not even Kiba has told me what Paradise is really like so how am I supposed to know?" Toboe replied, turning his head over to Kiba, who had a small smirk on his face and strands of his brown loose hair was in his face over his light blue eyes.

Afterward, the five of us continue to put miles behind us and I noticed that it had begun to snow again and it added more to the blanket of snow that already surrounded us. We spent the next few hours making it to what appears to be a snowy hill bank. I stood in between Hige and Tsume as we looked down at what was on the other side of this bank. The wind blew through my black, loosely pulled back hair and it kept my bangs was partly kept out of my face. In closer inspection, there was train tracks that were covered up by the strong winds and snow. "What is it?" Toboe called, catching up with us as he was falling behind us. The young red wolf gets in between Tsume and Kiba and saw what caused us to stop.

As we moved to the bridge, the wind was getting stronger by the second, and it was blinding. I kept my eyes squinted as the snow hit me in the face and my hair was blown back all the way so that the snow could have full access to my face. Just then, the fragrance of flowers filled my nose and I wasn't the only one to catch it. Kiba had stopped in his tracks, looking straight ahead with his eyes narrowed. "The scent is really faint. But it's definitely Lunar Flowers." Kiba stated, seeming to catch the scent also. I glanced at the white wolf for a moment before looking back ahead. "Guys, this is it! Paradise is right up ahead! C'mon!" Toboe exclaimed, running ahead of us in an excited attitude. I was the second to start following him in a sprint. Kiba and Hige followed suit and Tsume was the last to follow. While we were running, I felt somewhat skeptical of Paradise being this easy to find because I remembered Hige mentioning something about the flower maiden leading us there or something of that sort.

Our mixed footsteps slowly came to a halt when we arrived at what Toboe believed to be Paradise however, the place the tracks led us to a place that looked like it wasn't worth the ground it sat on. There wasn't any way of going around it so we had no option but to go straight through it; even if it meant getting ourselves into a shit ton of trouble.

When we make it inside, the first thing to hit me in the face was the foul stench that arose from the inside. Just smelling it alone made me cringe but I couldn't let the others notice. "Flowers huh? Well, the stench of old rancid oil is all I smell." Hige declared, a lazy look on his face. Tsume put his thumbs hooked in his leather pockets as he took the lead. I let my arms swing shortly as I followed him along with tightening my ponytail because the wind messed it up. My eyes dart around the alley way and I took notice that some of the humans here were just like the other ones in that village we came across. The only thing different was that they didn't have any guns. All they did was hide which was a bit of a surprise because I questioned if they could see us in our wolf forms or that they just didn't like seeing strange and unfamiliar faces. "Man, this place is quite sketchy…" I say, breaking the silence. "Damn right it is. Some Paradise this is. " Tsume growled, disapproving over everything this this waste dump had. At least I'm not the only one who finds this place sketchy.

Not five minutes after we arrived, I was starting to think that these streets were more desolate than I thought. Like, there wasn't any source of life anywhere here and red flags appeared in my mind. But my theory was proved false when the five of us started to pass a small, secluded area with a fire barrel in the middle. But, it was surrounded by… more wolves. From what I could count it was six of them, one of them in particular being an older female. They noticed us and we were instantly greeted with hateful stares, especially from the alpha who had a scar running down his left cheek. I give these wolves somewhat of a narrowed stare because something about them seemed to be off to me. Two of the wolves I recognized. I gave a angered look. They recognized me as well.

"Where are you five from?" the leader questioned. "A city up North." Kiba answered coolly. "What's your reason for being here?" the leader continued, keeping his eyes on us. "We're just passing through, you don't expect us to do business here?" Tsume wondered sheepishly, raising his voice and keeping his hands on his hips. He didn't even look at them when he answered the leader's question. "Look, we're going to Paradise. Have you heard of it?" I ask, getting straight to the point of our present destination. Those wolves looked at me and they uproared with hysterical laughter that made me step back. "What's so funny?" Toboe stated, getting more offended by this more than me. All I did was roll my eyes because by the way they're laughing, it's damn well obvious that they see it as a waste of time or something.

Once they stopped laughing, their hatred looks returned on their faces. "We know all about it." the alpha stated lowly. When I blinked once, that pack stood in their wolf forms, still giving us the same hateful glares. Those wolves glared back at me. I noticed that the alpha was the darkest out of the others. He was dark grey with a light grey mask like Tsume's. They turned back to human form. "It's nothing but a stupid legend." one of the other wolves speaks. I narrow my eyes and furrow one of my eyebrows. "How would you know that?" I question, feeling as though they just seem to give up like some of us have. As I said a long time ago, I don't see myself going to a place where you would be just chasing your tail. It seems pointless to me.

The wolf with the orange hat was one of the wolves I fought before. "Because we tried going there and it was just a hoax." he huffed, looking at me up and down. He seemed to be observing me and I didn't like how he was doing it. "You kids will find out soon enough. Now, do us a favor and scram. I'm sure you 5 have better things to do." the alpha spat in a demanding tone. That's fine with me. I just wanted to be away from these creepy sons of bitches. Just as we were about to leave, that same wolf spoke up. "Why not let that pretty she-wolf stay? Surely she'd like to be in a pack that has suitable males. Maybe she'll want to stay now." he said, making me gasp. The others were appalled by this disgusting request. Just hearing those words made me feel sick because I knew what they had in mind with a female like me. Especially of what they tried to pull the last time I had met them. I knew there was something going on with how he was observing me, he was willing to try it again. Even though I was vulnerable, I had to stick up for myself.

"Sorry. But I'd rather stick with them then being with a bunch of down and out strays. So piss off." I spat, not backing down at what they said. I walk around the others and stick my hands down in my pockets and they followed me. "She's just as frigid as I remember. Her father isnt here to defend his little daughter?" that wolf stated. I stop in my tracks at what he said. My blood boiled to the highest extent and I clench my fists in complete and utter anger. That made my blood boil. "Oh crap…" Hige gulped, seeing how angry I was getting. "Luna… calm down." Toboe assured, walking up to me and he tried holding my arm to calm me down. However, I pushed him off and angrily stomped over to the wolf who insulted me. "You listen here! You have no right to talk about my father. Bring it up again, and your candy asses will be finished." I growl in my father's defense.

The look on this wolf's face had a look of utter shock that a female wolf defended herself. The only logical thing that he could do to show how tough he was was to lunge out at me with his right hand and he grabbed me by the shirt and jacket in a tight grip. He raised up his other fist as if he was ready to punch me. "You'll pay for that, you bitch!" he snarled. I fought against his grip and snarl back at him all the while gripping onto his clothed arm. "Fight me one on one you chicken shit! You couldn't do it before!" I snarl, wanting to now fight this wolf. That statement only pissed him off even more and he was about to swing his fist so that it'll connect with the side of my face. "You hit her and I'll do more than fight you." the voice of Tsume growled, catching that Wolf's arm before he could punch me . I backed up a little bit in reaction. Tsume stood in between me and that asshole. "Don't even try it buddy." he stated in a low voice. That other wolf just scoffed at this and brushed himself down.

"Fine. We don't need that bitch anyway." he started before the alpha said something. "Moss, that's enough! And you two, get the hell out of here." he snarled. I roll my eyes in anger and turn the other direction with Tsume behind me. The next thing I know, the five of us were walking through another part of town in silence. I kept my hands in my pockets and looked down at my feet. I didn't have any regrets on standing up for myself and getting manhandled the way that wolf did. It was as if he highly expects female wolves to just automatically show submission but I'm the kind of wolf that will stand up for herself if necessary and not take any crap from anyone. "What the hell was that about Luna? How do you know that guy?" Hige wondered, taking notice of what just went down back there. "I was only defending myself. Just drop it okay." I answered, not looking up. "Well, that was crazy at how he grabbed you like that!" Toboe exclaimed. "Don't remind me." I vaguely state. I'm not showing submission to those pricks.

"Tsk. Those guys are a damn joke. They just give me the brush off." Tsume growled, acting as if he didn't come to my defense when that prick grabbed me the way he did. I guess he just doesn't want to acknowledge it right now. "Yeah right. You're not exactly one to talk you know." Hige smugly stated, looking upwards at the darkening sky. Tsume snapped his head to look at the tan wolf with an angry stare. "What did you say?!" he snarled, narrowing his eyes. Hige jumped back and lifted up his hands as if to surrender. "What I meant to say was that we could be just like those guys within two years." he said in defense. I just roll my eyes at this and look up slightly. "This city is scary. It doesn't feel right. Even though there's wolves living here, it's pretty cold here…" Toboe said, feeling skeptical. The young red wolf looked down at his feet in a forlorn manner. I take one of my hands out of my pocket and I use it to rub the back of my neck. He does have a point there because I'm feeling a little on edge as well.

"I'd have to agree with you there. The sooner we leave here the better off we'll be." I say, agreeing with him. They looked at me for a moment. "And where do you guys think we should go? With all these wolves living here, I think they're hiding something. We should stay and find out what it is." Kiba explains, grabbing all of our attention. These wolves made it clear that Paradise isn't anywhere near here. So why would Kiba think this? Now, I know that the faint scent of the lunar flowers was here but I'm not seeing anything of the sort. We just happened to run into another dingy human city and I'm frankly getting tired of it. Tsume looked back at the white wolf for a moment before walking ahead of us. I follow behind him and kept my eyes straight forward. I'm already done with this damn place.

We walked on to another part of the city for another 10 minutes before we stopped to rest on the city ledge. I sat with my legs hanging over the ledge in between Hige and Tsume. The moon above us illuminated the ocean below us and I just kept my green eyes on it. Everything was quiet until the ambient, disruptive sound of Hige's stomach broke the silence, causing me to close my eyes to silently show my irritance. "Oh, who's gut was that?" Hige asked, trying to cover that up. I, Toboe, and Kiba glance over at him with our eyebrows furrowed. We weren't stupid enough to believe that it was someone else. "Oh, it's me." Hige said bashfully, closing his eyes. He should be embarrassed because there's no way that he's going to blame it on someone else. Then, another stomach growls. Two actually. One of them being mine this time. "Heh, but it was Luna's and Tsume's this time." he pointed out. I just turn my eyes on the moon once again. Okay, I was a bit hungry but taking the time to find food right now was the last thing on my mind.

"Jeez, how do those wolves live here without much to eat? Standing around a bunch of trash all day and doing nothing?" Hige asked us but it fell on deaf ears. I grunt out of exhaustion before pushing myself up to my feet and I start to walk away from them. "Luna, where the hell do you think you're going?" Hige called out. I didn't pay any attention to him. Tsume soon followed behind me along with Toboe and Kiba. At least I'm not the only one who's irritated with Hige's whinish attitude.

Soon enough, the five of us came across an old graveyard. The place alone was enough to send chills up anyone's spine. The atmosphere along with with wind softly blowing by us was indeed creepy as hell. "This should be a good place to sleep." Tsume suggested, not thinking twice about his choice of rest. Even though this place was very creepy and unsettling to me, I kept a straight facade. "Well looks like food's out of the picture." Hige sighed in disappointment. My eyes glance over to the tan wolf, he had a look of non satisfaction written all over it. "Well if this isn't surprising than I don't know what is." I scoff, rolling my eyes out of annoyance. It catches Hige's attention and the face he gave me made me use all I had in order not to laugh at it. "What's that supposed to mean?" he wondered, seeming offended. "It's pretty damn obvious that your only thoughts on your thick skull is finding food and a potential female." I say, cocking my eyebrow along with a smartass smirk. That made him back up a little and his face turned red. I guess I struck a nerve.

"I'm insulted Luna! And plus I know you're hungry too!" the tan wolf exclaimed, clearly embarrassed. "At least I'm not bringing it up every five minutes!" I spat back, narrowing my eyes a bit. "Okay you guys. Please don't start fighting." Toboe stated, stopping a fight before one aroused. I roll my eyes and start to walk forward at a steady pace. Tsume followed behind me and the others followed us. The more we walk through this cemetery, the more on edge I was feeling. "Guys, I keep hearing something weird." Toboe whined, clearly on edge of this creepy place. Tsume scoffed at this and turned to look at the pup. "Stop being so scared of everything, would you?" he growled. Not soon after Tsume stated that, something winded up shooting out of the ground at the speed of a bullet right in front of us. "AGH!" Toboe, Hige, and I yell out as the three of us fall back onto our asses.

When I get a better look at what scared us, my nerves instantly calmed down and I sighed in relief. It turned out to be an old wolf who was digging a hole. He had his wolf tongue hanging out while he looked at us in a hazey stare. Hige and Toboe also sighed out of relief in seeing the old wolf. "Hey, Gramps what are you doing?! You scared the crap out of us!" Hige exclaimed, looking at him slightly annoyed. The wolf turned to his human form and he lifted his head. "Oh? I was only digging this hole for myself." he explained roughly in a elder voice. I got back to my feet and dust off my jeans. "What do you mean a hole for yourself? Like a grave?" I questioned, furrowing my eyebrow. If that's the case then that could mean one thing. At his age, his time is running out. The old wolf glanced at me with his dark gold eyes. I could tell that they must've darkened over his lifetime. He reminded me of my grandparents from when I was a pup.

"Well, young she wolf, when you get to my age, you start to see the end of your time." he answered me calmly. "You might want to dig faster then." Tsume coldly stated, getting me to roll my eyes in annoyance. It pissed me off that he would even say that. "Hey, mister, have you by any chance seen any lunar flowers here?" Toboe timidly asked, showing respect to the old wolf. Got to respect your elders as they say. Those two words made the old wolf's eyes light up with enthusiasm and he let out a gasp of excitement. He held out his arms as if he was expecting a hug. "The flower bed had gone on forever!" he exclaimed, getting Kiba to gasp from behind me. "Long ago, they inhabited this island. But they were all dug up and now they're isn't any left. Not a single petal left." he answered, his excited tone dropping into a saddened tone. "Long time ago, huh?" Hige questioned. "Do you know what color they were?" Toboe asked, turning his head a bit. The old wolf looked up as if to think of the answer. "The hue of the moon of course!" he said, pointing up to the sky. I look up at the moon for a brief moment and thought about what he just said. Is that what Lunar Flowers really looked like or is he just senile? It could be.

"Have you found Paradise?" Tsume asked, his tone staying in a cold manner. "Of course at least once. Every wolf goes in search of it at least once in their lives." Gramps stated coolly to Tsume. Well, if that's true then, I guess some of us are blind to keep a steady destination to keep a wolf going while they still lived. To be fair, I never was a big believer in it therefore I didn't see any reason to go there. I know I keep saying this however, I like to keep reminding myself of it. "Is there a way of getting there?" Kiba wondered. Gramps turns his back to us and climbed out of his alleged grave. We followed him to the entrance way to some sort of sewer that seemed to be half way boarded up with rotting wood. The scent coming out of there was horrible and I cringed.

"Damn, that reeks! Smells like death warmed over!" Hige exclaimed. "Ugh, you're not wrong…" I say quietly, close to holding my breath. The only one who seemed attracted to this tunnel was Kiba and he begins to walk up to it, like his feet had minds of their own. The reason for this is because Gramps told us that that tunnel was the entrance to Paradise. "I wouldn't." Gramps said, stopping Kiba in his tracks. He seemed to warn the white wolf intently. "There was many wolves who went there but the Paradise that they were looking for never made it." Gramps continued, looking down at the ground as if he were sad, "What's left of us have sought refuge in this old town." "Okay, old man." a familiar voice got us to look behind us. Behind us was the leader of that pack. I just narrow my eyes at seeing him approach us. "Time to call it a day. Don't forget that there's work to be done tomorrow." he stated to Gramps. Gramps sighed and he begins to walk back to that leader. "I see. Well, I guess it's deep enough." Gramps replied, going by the leader.

"Wait a minute, when you and your pack tried to go to Paradise, is this where you went?" Kiba asked, getting that leader to look up at him with narrowed, cold eyes. "Didn't you hear me state that it's not real?" he spat. Gramps looked up at him and whispered his name and I caught it with my good ears. That leader's name is Zali. He looked back up at us with a look of pure disgust. "If any of you disrupt the peace of this pack, I won't show you any mercy. Especially that she-wolf right there. Now you five better be out of here at dawn tomorrow." Zali spat, getting me to glare at him in an offensive manner. What an asshole. He doesn't understand that I was only defending myself from that jerkwad and from what I heard, he didn't do shit to stop him from calling me a bitch. He let it happen.

We didn't want anything to do with this pack anymore and we resided in a old torn down building. I laid against the far wall from the entrance way in my wolf form with my wolf legs tucked under me. My wolf forelegs were in front of me and crossed. The air was much warmer in my wolf form. I rested my wolf head on my forelegs while my knicked wolf ears laid limply on my wolf head. The silence around us made me feel somewhat relaxed and I let my wolf eyes shut to rest them. That is until the silence around me was broken by tsume's rough toned voice, getting me to open them again…

"So... Do you still believe in it?" He asked kiba. The white wolf looked back at him with a furrowed brow. " Believe in what?" he asked in response. "Paradise. That place you believed was real but its a hoax." Tsume retorts, getting my to turn my wolf head the other direction. Right now, all I want to do is sleep and get all of this off my mind. I couldn't process all of this at once.

"And if it weren't for Luna's idiotic move back there, we wouldn't get into trouble with that alpha of that pack's." Tsume growled, making me turn back to human form. "Well I'm not going to take any crap from wolves I don't know. Besides, you didn't have to butt in." I honestly say, leaning against the entrance wall with my legs propped up against my chest. "Oh yes I did. There wasn't any reason for you to start a damn fight." He growled, giving me narrow eyes. I just look away with my mouth in a angered twist. Tsume is wrong… It's not the first time I had to defend myself from humans who were exactly like that asshat back there. Unlike him, I mean I don't want to say for sure but, he looked like he's stayed in Freeze City the longest along with Toboe so he doesn't know what assholes I've had to deal with before I met them.

"It's not the Paradise that we're looking for. It had to have been a trap." Kiba continued bluntly. I turn my head halfway to look at him and Tsume did also. How could Kiba know this? Those wolves could've just wanted to die from whatever the hell was in that tunnel. Zali refused to believe in Paradise much like Tsume and me. I don't know about Toboe and Hige. Kiba is the only one out of all of us who is bluntly determined to actually go there. "Where's this confidence coming from?" Tsume wondered. "You'll only make yourself hungrier by saying these things." Toboe piped in, getting me to look at the young wolf for a moment. I raise my right arm to rub the back of my neck and I sigh. Tsume leaned back on the the rubble with his hands behind his head. "Maybe staying here isn't such a bad idea. We could just die here in the gutter and start digging graves like that old wolf." Tsume scoffed, closing his eyes. I turn my eyes the other direction because that meant Tsume had given up at this point. To be fair, I honestly don't blame him because going in circles is futile. I honestly don't believe that I have too. It's difficult to decide on the belief in Paradise in all honesty. "It's not confidence. I… don't know what it is. But that same voice always shouts at me from the back of my head. I just got to get there; that's why I've been running to find what it is. I can't imagine living without believing in it." Kiba answered, still looking out at the view in front of him. At least he has something to keep him going.

Just as I was beginning to let the silence consume me, another set of footsteps pulled me right back to reality. It turned out that I wasn't the only one to hear them. "You 5 must be starving by now." a voice along with the form of the she-wolf that we saw earlier came around the corner. When I looked closer, I saw that she was a grey wolf that also had a mask on her face along with dark yellow eyes. She was smaller in size compared to Zali. When I see her turn back to human form, she smiled down at us. "Yes, yes, yes! Thank you so much for noticing!" Hige exclaimed happily, crawling to her like a love struck pup. And it disgusted me. I then notice that Kiba had wandered away from the building and I rolled my eyes. "Hey, Kiba's gone!" Toboe exclaimed, coming back from trying to find him. That is until Tsume and I got up from our respective area. He obviously didn't care that I went with him. "Wait, Tsume, Luna. What's the matter?" the red wolf asked us. "This isn't worth our time." Tsume answered, walking ahead of me. "Yeah, I'm not sticking what that love struck pup." I groan, putting my hands in my pockets. I'm not a hopeless romantic unlike Hige. It's like he'll do anything for love in this matter.

The two of us walk into another part of the city and I was a couple of steps behind Tsume. "You don't need to come with me you know, Luna." Tsume growled, making it a point that he doesn't want company. "Well, Mr. Independent, I also don't want to be around Hige especially if he's in his love struck stage." I stated, looking up at the back of Tsume's head. He bluntly chuckled and looked at me sideways. "Never thought I'd meet a she-wolf who's not a head over heels for any male she comes across." he said to me, getting me to silently blush. "Uh, yeah. I don't throw myself at males like that." I reply, rubbing under my ponytail and the back of my neck. I'm not picky on what male wolf I'd actually want as my mate but I also have my independence.

"Hey! Wait up guys!" Toboe exclaimed, the sound of his footsteps getting louder and louder from behind us but Tsume and I didn't stop walking. "Guys, you shouldn't keep wandering off because soon enough we'll end up alone." Toboe sadly told us. "That's fine by me." Tsume stated, keeping on walking. That's not surprising coming from him. "Well it's not… by me." Toboe forlornly stated, getting me to look back at him for a moment. I looked long enough to see that he stopped walking and he looked down at his feet. It got me to stop and I ended up walking back to the saddened pup. When I approached him, I put both of my hands on his shoulders and I rubbed his arms to comfort him. "Hey… come on. Don't worry about that okay? Let's just go with him." I tell him. He looks up at me and he grinned at me warmly. He nodded at me and the two of us continued to follow Tsume to wherever he was going.

We all walked into what appears to be a human station with clocks, benches, and train tracks. This area didn't have any humans and that was good because I figured as such that they wouldn't run those trains at this time of night. Tsume had approached one of the benches and he let his arms lay on the back of it and his head drooped some tiredly. "Ugh… I'm really tired. Let's stop here." Tsume suggested tiredly. It did look uncomfortable but hey, who am I to complain right now? I did feel tired and sought the need to rest my eyes. "Yeah. It couldn't hurt." I reply, feeling a yawn crawling it's way up my throat. I walk over to the bench and sit down on his right side, instantly feeling the heaviness in my feet begin to ache. Damn, I never realized how sleepy I was feeling at that point in time. My eyes begin to drop on their own and I felt my head drop to the right.

The feeling of something warm against my face woke me up. At first, I didn't know what it was. But my vision cleared, I soon realized that I was leaning on… Tsume! I sprung fully awake and I jolted back in shock, my eyes widened. He didn't seem phased by my actions because he was also asleep. Toboe was also asleep on the bench but he was on his right side, curled into a ball. I sighed and just leaned back against the back of the bench. It didn't take long until I could see Hige coming our way with his hands in his pockets. Toboe opened his eyes and lifted himself up. "Hige?" he said in a tired manner. Hige looked around the area. "I heard there was food here." he stated. "How the hell can you be hungry again?" I ask, stretching my sore body. Tsume was already awake and was the first to stand up. I stood up also and noticed how it was the next morning. Man, I didn't realize how long I had been sleeping for.

Then, the distant sound of chains had caught my attention. I couldn't help but run to the railing that had a view of the lower level of this station. The others followed me and what was on the bottom level had me horrified… Down there, were the wolves of Zali's pack. They were strapped with harnesses to what looked like a large crate with human luggage on it. A human used a long whip to strike the wolves and they began to pull the heavy luggage. I was horrified at seeing what these wolves were doing just to survive. My breathes were heavy yet ragged and my palms began to sweat. The others were pissed off at seeing this. And the worst thing in this… that old wolf that we were with last night was also harnessed. Just seeing this filled me with anger… Why would they make the old wolf work hard labor like this along with those other wolves…? This is not what wolves are not meant to do.

"What the hell's going on down there?!" Tsume snarled, pointing at the wolves below us. I looked over and Zali was standing there with his hands behind his back while he looked on like he doesn't care the pain he's causing his pack. I look down to see that the humans had made the wolves stop and I teared up at seeing that the wolves were now fighting over small portions of meat. "You better start talking!" I growl, feeling very pissed at what he's doing. Without turning his attention from his abused pack, he answers me in a tone that somehow made it clear that he doesn't care what he's putting his pack through. "The train makes a point to stop. It's the only way that we can all live out here. The humans feed us and we work for them." Zali said stoically. I jolted back at that answer. This pisses me off because no wolf shouldn't be under the influence of humans who make them do their dirty work.

"Scratching each others backs… Like you Tsume. You used to run with them too!" Hige stated, looking at Tsume. "I only used them but they never USED me!" Tsume growled in defense. I looked on down below and I held onto to the steel bars with my fingers wrapped around the metal. Tears formed in my eyes when I saw the wolves once again were straining to pull that damn cart. But when I saw how exhausted Gramps was, those tears fell over. He was stumbling around and his breathing grew more pained and heavy. "Gramps is in serious trouble!" Hige exclaimed, wanting to do something about this. But… soon enough Gramps had fallen over. The human whipped him to force him to get back up. When he tried, he let out a pained whine and he fell back over… dead. "No… Oh god no…" I gasp, covering my mouth in shock. These humans had killed Gramps…

Then out of the corner of my eye, Kiba was standing there in another corridor, looking beaten up all to hell. He took one look at the scene and he ran at the humans in his wolf form with his wolf fangs bared. He ran at them at top speed with his wolf hackles raised. Zali suddenly jumped down and he lunged at Kiba in his wolf form and he tackled him with his wolf fangs and then Zali held Kiba down with his arm because he went back to human form. The humans running this ran to where Zali was. I was in shock… I didn't know what to do and neither did Tsume, Hige, or Toboe.

 _ _We wolves were the only ones in the graveyard in our wolf forms. I was sitting down with my wolf tail on my right side and my wolf ears were laying limply on the side of my wolf head and I had my wolf eyes on the scene in front of me. Kiba was halfway sitting up and his wolf hindlegs were laying limply behind his wolf body. Zali stood in his wolf form with his wolf ears pointed straight forward. Tsume was standing with his wolf ears laid back all the way with his wolf head lowered some. Toboe had his wolf ears slightly lowered and he stood up. Hige had his wolf ears lowered and he also sat down. The few wolves that were from that scene surrounded the grave that Gramps was in. "I told you not to interfere." Zali said without turning his wolf head. I will admit that his wolf size is a bit taller than Tsume. I then hear Kiba slowly begin to snarl and I could see that his wolf fangs were bared.__

 _ _"Living out like a bunch of down and out strays…" Kiba growled, getting Zali to turn his wolf head to look at him with his wolf eyes staring hard on at the white wolf. He narrowed his wolf eyes at him. "You clinging onto this disgusting place is not how a wolf should live!" Kiba snarled, his wolf hackles raising up. Zali bared his wolf fangs and his wolf jaw hung open some. "What the hell do you know about it?!" he snarled deep yet lowly. He looked as if he would spring at Kiba any given moment. "You're pathetic…" Kiba growled softly. The older wolf turned his wolf head back in the direction he was facing, the rising sun striking his wolf face. "You kids… are still young." he stated, his wolf ears lowering. I adjusted my wolf paws and closed my wolf eyes. He just doesn't get it… And frankly, I don't think we do either.__


	8. Chapter 8 The Successors

After that confrontation with Zali, the five of us had made our way back to our spot in that abandoned building. Kiba had his shirt and jacket off while Toboe was tending to the wounds that those wolves inflicted on him. I sat down once again by the doorway of the building while Tsume leaned against it. I had my legs pulled up to my chest and my arms were wrapped around them. I was still shaken up by what we witnessed earlier this morning. I couldn't bear to watch that scene especially since it killed one of our own and Zali's pack doesn't seem to care and that only made it worse.

"This should help his wounds heal a lot faster." Toboe said, finishing up with patching Kiba's wounds. "It's typical of him. He never thinks before doing something." Hige shrugged his shoulders. I look off to the side to look at the tan wolf. Kiba did what he had to do in his mind. He was trying to do the one thing that we wanted to however we couldn't expose our wolf form. Mixed feelings had washed through me during that time. It was along the lines of, anger, sadness, & hatred. I didn't know what to think at this point. "You know, we should leave as soon as possible. We should've known staying here was nothing more than a bad idea." Tsume scoffed, getting me to look up at him. "We can't leave Kiba here." Toboe stated logically. I looked to the wounded white wolf for a moment before I look back down at my hands. "Which is why we should've left yesterday." Hige smugly said, his hands behind his head. "Really? It seems you could live out the rest of your life here and be happy." Tsume stated, looking back at the tan wolf. Hige looks away from him for a moment with a hmpf. Why does Hige have to be so careless about this?

"Let's go!" Kiba exclaimed, trying to sit up only to get pushed down by Toboe. "Wait a minute, you can't go anywhere with an empty stomach and with those wounds." he scolded, pushing Kiba back down with his hands on his shoulders. I raise an eyebrow as I glance over to Hige and gave him a blunt expression. "Well, there's someone here who's got a full gut." I state, getting Tsume and Toboe to look over at him. Hige sat up with his hands on his sides. "Hey, what's with the sour attitudes? Cole was nice enough to bring us food and you guys stuck up your noses! You know it's rude to waste food! Who else but me would eat it alone? Hell, someone had to do it?" Hige responded, trying way too hard to defend himself in that matter. I roll my eyes and clench my fists together. He only cared about his stomach and he says Kiba never uses his head? Damn, he's one to talk. It's as if his stomach's bigger than his head.

"You know it would've been nice to save us some, you know." Toboe said forlornly. When I looked over at him, he looked at his hands with his eyes giving off a saddened glow. "Well, you guys decided to leave, not me." Hige stated. I glance back at him with a raised eyebrow. "Did you have a nice time with that she-wolf? You know she's already taken." I pipe in, looking straight at him. The more I spoke, the more agitated I was feeling. I made it clear by the sound of my voice. "Well, I don't know. Something about her seemed kind of off." he answered, looking in the other direction while putting his finger on his chin as if to think. I sigh and look down at the ground. "So what do we do? I mean we got to do something." Toboe asked in a logical way. To this, Hige bolts up enthusiastically. "Oh you mean rely on Cole's hospitality for a while?" he blurted out. Hearing this made me feel more and more angry. He's really starting to test my patience and I absolutely despise when others pull that crap with me.

"No like you finding us something to eat! On your own!" Tsume corrected harshly. Hige began to protest at this because he wanted the food for himself. That's when I snapped and I shot out of my spot at the speed of a bullet. "That's it!" I shout, stomping over to the tan wolf. With one quick swipe, I use my hand to grab him by his collar. He was shocked at how I reacted to his repulsive whining. "I've had it with your constant complaints! You've crossed my last line! Pull your head out of your ass and find us something to eat!" I snarl, giving him a pissed off glare. He was at a loss for words that I snapped at him. He went all wide eyed and his face went white. He obviously didn't want his ass handed to him by a she-wolf. When I threw him back on the ground, he didn't hesitate to get up and walk off to hopefully get us something because I am feeling rather peckish.

Toboe and Tsume were both surprised at how I snapped at Hige. When I looked at them, Tsume was kind of wide eyed as well as Toboe. The red wolf stood up to his feet and he walked over to me. "C'mon Luna. Let's go find Kiba some more herbs to help his wounds." he said, getting me to look back at him. I did need to get away from here for a bit. So biding my time with Toboe to help Kiba wouldn't hurt any. I sigh and agreed to go with him. "We'll be back soon." I say, running with Toboe to help him find herbs.

 _We slowed down our running and we started to trot on the snow in our wolf forms. My wolf ears were laid back some and my wolf hackles were raised a bit because I was still feeling tensed at snapping at Hige. "So… what the heck was that about?" Toboe asked, getting my wolf ears to flicker. "What was what?" I ask, keeping my wolf head lowered. "The way you snapped at Hige back there? What was that about?" Toboe prodded on, turning his wolf head to look at me with his dark gold wolf eyes. "Sorry I was just… tense is all. Especially after seeing those wolves." I say, shaking my black wolf fur. "Well, when Kiba's well enough to walk, we can leave. This place gives me the creeps." Toboe stated, looking around with his wolf ears twitching back and forth. The two of us continued down to find more herbs. That is until a strange yet loud sound caught our attention. My wolf head sprung up along with my wolf ears because it sounded like heavy metal closing up._

" _What was that?" Toboe wondered, also hearing the noise._ We both stood in human form as multiple orange trucks drove by us with triangular cages on the backs of them. "Something is up." I say, sensing something was amiss. "I'm inclined to agree with you. Let's go." Toboe said, grabbing my hand to lead me to where the sound came from. The two of us ran until we came to where one of those triangular shaped cages was just planted in the snow. We crouched behind a brick wall and we peeked over it to observe. My eyes widened when I saw who was inside that cage… It was Hige. He was struggling to escape the cage. He then tried prying the bars apart with his wolf fangs with a whimper however, he stopped and stood up in his human form, rubbing his chin. "Ahh. My fangs are too delicate for that." he said, still rubbing his chin. Just then, we saw three of those wolves who live here in their human forms walk over to the cage.

Toboe and I just listened in on the conversation as my stomach twisted with anxiousness. "Hm? Oh it's just you guys. I'm glad you're here." Hige said in relief. The wolves looked at him with stoic expressions. "Looks like wolves still get caught in traps even today." the wolf that had the orange hat on his head asked in a sarcastic tone. Hige chuckled in embarrassment while scratching the back of his head. "Yeah. Am I ever embarrassed?" he said. I just roll my eyes at this. "How are you so cheerful when you're locked up?" that same wolf questioned, giving Hige a sinister glare. "Heh. I'm sorry for that. So you guys think you can let me out of here now?" Hige asked, holding the bars with both hands as he shortly smiled with his eyes shut. They have to let him out because he can't stay here.

"What do you guys think? Should we help the poor wolf out?" that wolf asked, looking back at his band of wood-be toughs. "These punks and that bitch have been nothing but trouble ever since they got here." the one on the right scowled. Those words made my teeth clench together because I'm getting tired of them calling me a bitch. Even insulting my pack was teeth gritting enough and it made my blood boil. "I uh…" Hige began, then looking over to his right to see one of those orange trucks started to come over. My heart started pounding out of my chest. Toboe and I exchanged looks before continuing to observe the scene in front of us. "Look, I'm sorry! C'mon let me out! What the hell's your problem?! Are you three going to just watch me die?!" Hige shouted, getting more agitated with each passing second. They just smiled at him without caring about his well being. "Why should we? You stuck your nose where it don't belong. So saving you isn't in our book." that wolf said, still smirking at Hige. I looked closely at the anger written all over Hige's face when they refused to help him out of there.

The tan wolf growled and he shouted at the wolves, "Oh really?! I wouldn't want to be released by good for nothing dogs anyway!" That one statement caused to strike a nerve within the lead wolf's face. He became angry and he bared his teeth as well as widening his eyes. "What did you say?!" he snarled. Hige wasn't backing down and he let go of the bars. "You're not wolves or dogs! You're way lower than humans!" he shouted. Just then, that same wolf suddenly grabbed him by his hoodie with a tight grip and we saw that wolf violently strike a punch to Hige's stomach. I jumped back at that sudden reaction from that wolf. "Hige… no…" I quiver. Hige slowly fell onto the floor of the cage in his wolf form, his wolf jaw hanging open as he got knocked out cold. Just then, that truck pulled up and stopped by the cage. Two humans got out of the truck.

"Hey, caught one right off the bat huh?" one of them asked. The looked at Hige and observed him. "He's a big stray." one of those wolves stated. "He looks like he'll be impossible to train. I suggest we just put him down." the other human suggested. My heart jumped to my throat at that. "Oh my god no!" I exclaim quietly, backing up. "C'mon! We got to tell Tsume and Kiba!" Toboe exclaimed, just as panicked as I was. The two of us quickly got to our feet and begin to make a run towards where Tsume and Kiba were. We had to hurry and fast! They will kill Hige if we don't! My stomach was twisting and turning and the pounding of my heart made me feel even more panicked. Toboe's heavy breathing as we ran and it showed just how scared he was. I don't want to think what they're going to do with Hige but I know that we can't waste any time now.

Soon enough, we make it back to where Tsume and Kiba were. From what I can see, Kiba had found the strength to get back up and to put his shirt and jacket back on. "Kiba! Are you okay?" Toboe asked in concern. "Yeah. I'm fine. You're by yourselves?" Kiba answered, his voice proving that he was still in slight pain from his wounds. "Where's Porky?" Tsume questions. I turn to the grey wolf with a look of sheer panic. "That's just it! He's been captured in this triangular trap! And the humans took him away!" I exclaim, clenching my fists. Kiba sucked in a sharp burst of air at what I said. "All he's got to do is fool those humans and he can get away." Tsume theorized. "But he can't! Those wolves that live here knocked him out! They're planning to kill him!" Toboe exclaimed, clenching his fists as well and lifting his arms up halfway. The expression on Tsume's face went from chilled out to shock and he stood up straight.

"Why the hell would they do that?!" he snarled, baring his teeth. My palms started to sweat because of how nervous I was feeling at this point in time. "Where'd they take him to?" Tsume questioned. "We don't know! We ran back here when we found out they were going to kill him!" I exclaim, slightly stuttering my words. "Why didn't you two warn us by howling? And why did you come back? You guys should have followed him!" Tsume scolded, pointing his finger at us. "What the hell do you expect us to do?! You wouldn't have known!" I argued with him. Just then, Kiba limps from behind us and I turned around to face him. "Let's go." he said, his hand on the doorway to use as support. "Where to?" Tsume questioned as we all looked at him. "The city." Kiba grunted, still limping out of the door. I looked at Toboe and Tsume for a moment before walking at a steady pace behind him. He was limping quite badly and it didn't go unnoticed either. "This is taking forever!" Tsume exclaimed, impatiently. He then proceeded to pick Kiba up off of his feet and throw him over his shoulder. "Hey cut it out!" Kiba exclaimed. "C'mon! We need to hurry! They'll kill him!" I exclaim, starting to run into the city with them behind me.

 _The three of us ran in our wolf forms through the city. Tsume led the way with me on his right side and Toboe on his left. Kiba was laying sideways on Tsume's back. He looked just as beat up in his wolf form than his human form._ Soon enough, we were back in an alleyway, out of sight of the humans. "Tsume, put me down! I can walk on my own now!" Kiba exclaimed. We came to a stop and Tsume put Kiba down to let him lean against the wall to use as support. My arms were outstretched a bit as I looked at him. "Alright. Let's get a move on." Tsume said, rolling his shoulder as if to pop it. Looking around, the form of that same she wolf walked by us and into the alleyway. "Guys! Look!" I exclaim, pointing in her direction. Once she saw us, she ran in another alleyway. "That's that lady from last night!" Toboe exclaimed, noticing her as well. Kiba ran ahead of us with no issue. We followed suit a couple seconds after he started running. We turn into that same pack we encountered last night.

In seeing us, they look back at us with smug grins on their faces like they are pleased with the shit they've done. "Well, well, well. It looks like last night's beating didn't sink in." one of them snickered. "Maybe this little bitch here didn't learn either." another stated, straight up pissing me off. "You want to start something with me you good for nothing dogs?!" I exclaim, feeling my blood boil. That wolf that punched Hige grabbed me by my shirt and nearly punches me in the face. "Moss! What are you doing? Let her go." the voice of Zali exclaimed, getting all of us to look at him. Zali stood at the foot of the entrance way of this alleyway. "You better let her go." Tsume warned, sounding threatening. That wolf threw me away from his pack and I stumbled, barely catching my footing. Toboe had caught me and helped me stand up straight.

"You mean you ordered this?" Tsume growled at Zali. Zali had given him a puzzled look and raised his eyebrow. "Ordered what?" he questioned perplexed. I turned myself around to look at this 'alleged alpha'. "Cut the crap! We know you ordered this!" I yell, feeling my blood boil. "What are you talking about?" Zali questioned, still confused about this current situation. "Is it true what we heard? That you sold our friend out to those humans?" Kiba questioned coolly yet bluntly. Tsume growled underneath his breath because his patience seemed to be wearing thin. If Zali is the leader of this pack, then he should damn well know what the hell we're talking about. "Just how low will you mongrels sink?" Tsume snarled, ready to spring. Zali still had no recollection of what the hell was going down. "What's going on? Start explaining." Zali questioned, lifting his head up a bit. I was growing angrier and angrier by the second. It took all of my strength to hold back the punch that I wanted to give him.

"Hell if I know." that same wolf stated stoically. "That guy said to kill him! Luna and I heard you tell those humans to kill him!" Toboe exclaimed, pointing straight over to the wolf who wore the orange hat. He didn't even flinch at the fact Toboe just exposed him. Zali's eyes widened as he now knew what his pack was doing behind his back. Kiba ran up to him in order to attack him but Zali had roughly pushed him back against the wall. Zali then punched his pack mate so hard that he fell onto the ground with a loud grunt. "This is my pack!" Zali yelled, his fists balled up as he looked back at us. I stood up straight while my fists were balled up. "Why in the hell did you sell out their friend?" Zali questioned harshly. That wolf stands back up and rubs his chin for a moment. "He's an outsider." he answered, acting as if nothing happened. I can tell by this scene here that this pack is falling apart little by little. The only thing I could do was keep my mouth shut and watch the insanity unfold.

"Well, wasn't it you who sold out your friends?" one of the other wolves scolded. "What?!" Zali exclaimed, his eyes widened at that question. "You know it's true! You don't even do a dog's work!" that same wolf replied. Zali's expression turned from shock to anger. His own pack was betraying him and it looked to me that he wouldn't get their loyalty nor respect back. "Is this how you really feel? All I was doing was keeping us safe by suppressing my own feelings." Zali mentioned, looking down at his feet. I lifted my head at what he said. He spoke like a true alpha. The only other wolf who spoke like this was… was my grandmother. We always looked up to her because she was the elder of my pack. But I couldn't tell them that. Not right now.

"Yeah, well none of us sees you as the leader anymore!" Moss shouted, suddenly throwing a hard punch at Zali, knocking him to the ground. That move threw us all off and I jumped from being startled. Soon enough, the four of us starred at what those wolves were doing to Zali. They were beating him to a pulp. All those punches and kicks did some damage to him. "Stop it! Just stop it!" Cole exclaimed, panicking because of her mate getting hurt. Surprisingly, they listened to her. "You bastards! I'll kill you!" I exclaimed, feeling anger take over. But I was held back by Tsume. All they did was laugh off at my anger, which pissed me off even more because I hate being underestimated. "Oh really? We'd like to see you try, she wolf." Moss chuckled, still underestimating me. This son of a bitch. I'm starting to lose my damn patience with him.

They then just walked away without remorse of beating up their now ex-alpha. I walked up to where Kiba was and I stood on his right side, just looking down at Zali, who was all bruised up from the incessant punches and kicks. "Are you okay?" I asked him. Cole got down to where he was and helped him sit up. "I'm fine. You shouldn't worry about me." he answered in a calm way. It made me feel bad that he had lost his pack. He lost the respect of them and they left without caring. Some pack they are for stabbing their alpha in the back by beating him up because of how they survived out here.

"If you plan on giving up on Paradise, now might be the time." Zali said stiffly because of how banged up he was. Kiba just looked down at him with what I call a courageous facade. "I don't have anywhere to go back to. The only thing I can do is keep moving forward." Kiba replied with confidence. "Even if hell is where we're headed towards." Tsume said. I looked at him with wide, shocked eyes as well as Kiba and Toboe. "You wolves might have given up on Paradise but we sure as hell haven't and we ain't stopping." he stated, looking straight down at Zali with a confident stance. I take a step back at what he said and let out a stunned gasp. We never thought he would defend Paradise after denying it to be fake. Kiba and Toboe, too, were shocked at Tsume's words. Zali then gets up to his feet with no problem.

"Zali?" Cole said in concern. He looked over to her with a grin. "I can still run." he said, turning around and he ran in the direction that his ex-pack ran down. One by one, we all followed him. _We all ran in our wolf forms. We were once again a mix mash of colored wolves going from dark grey, grey, white, black, & red. My wolf ears were laid back and my wolf tail flew behind me while I ran on the slightly cold concrete. Kiba ran straight as an arrow in his wolf form despite him being beat up. We all ran alongside the edge of the city and my wolf eyes caught sight of that same orange truck that took Hige away. Once the humans in the truck spotted us, it started swerving violently before crashing onto its right side. _

We stood around Hige in our human forms. Once he saw us, he sighed and sat up. "Damn it. Do you guys have to be so rough?" he questioned, looking at us with annoyance. I put my hands on my hips as I gazed down at him. "Don't expect us to save you from certain death every minute, okay?" I sarcastically say. Geez, I sound like a mom who is just done with saving someone every minute. We're not superheroes. "You can get out of there yourself can't you?" Tsume questioned. Hige leaned back with using his arms as support to hold him up. "Yeah, well, the barbaric stuff isn't really my thing." Hige answered, closing an eye. _We stand in wolf form around Hige as Kiba begins to use his wolf fangs to pry the bars apart. My wolf ears flickered at the sound of the truck door opening above us. We all looked up at the sound of it opening and one of the humans opened it. He saw us and pulled out a gun, which made me lift my front forepaw. He then started to shoot at us. Zali then jumped out of nowhere with his wolf fangs opened all the way and he let out a fierce growl._

 _That gave us enough time to get Hige the hell out of that cage so we could escape. Once he was out, we all ran from that area. Our wolf claws clicked against the concrete as we ran. Kiba took the lead once again and he still was running correctly. There were cuts on his wolf face and on his wolf legs. My wolf fur flew every which way as we ran and my wolf jaw was partly dropped so I could breathe through my mouth. I ran at full speed to where it felt like my wolf paws didn't touch the cracked pavement._

Zali had caught up with us and he had led us back to that same tunnel we saw last night. We knew we needed to get the hell out of there because we would surely get into trouble with the humans here. Once we were in the tunnel, Zali stood in front of us and he stopped walking. "This is as far as I'll go. From now on, you five are on your own." Zali proclaimed, refusing to go any further. I look over to him with a sympathetic glance. "Why don't you come with us? That pack of yours has lost its faith in you." I suggested. Zali looked at me sideways with a half grin. "You're right. But, I can't leave this city behind. It's where I'll live the rest of my life now." he answered respectfully. "Who knows if the place you guys are trying to find is even real? However, what I believe is that there is some that do make it to the real Paradise & some who aren't meant to go. I'm greatly convinced of that. You five will soon find out for yourselves if it does exist beyond this road." Zali preached, gazing out into the distance. He seemed to mean business if he says that and I honestly can say that I don't blame him for standing up for what he wants to do.

"You don't seem much of a wolf." Tsume stated, "A wolf looks after its own. It's not natural to look after another pack." Zali smiled at this because he knew Tsume was correct. "Listen, young she wolf." Zali said, looking at me, "Along the way, find yourself a good mate to help you on your journey. Find one that'll love you for who you are like I have with my mate. Find the right one." My eyes widened at what he said. Where did this come from? I didn't expect a wolf who we barely know to predict a potential mate for me. But… I'm not sure if I'm ready for a mate. "I will." I agreed, nodding. After that, Kiba led the way once again. Then it was Tsume, Hige, me, then Toboe as we ran down the tunnel. _We all ran in wolf form and I kept my golden wolf eyes straight ahead of the tunnel with my knicked wolf ears pointed straight up all the way. We were finally rid of this place and on our way to Paradise. I'll keep in mind of what Zali stated about me finding a potential mate._


	9. Chapter 9 The Flower Maiden

_It took us about a day to get the hell out of that tunnel. Our wolf fur had been covered by the dust that inhabited it. As we ran, I couldn't help but think of how Zali lost the loyalty of his own pack. It's a shame him and Cole didn't decide to come with us. Oh well, I guess they don't want to take over a pack they barely know and Tsume said that it's unnatural for wolves from a stranger pack to not look after their own. That's understandable. Maybe they could have pups of their own while they still can. Plus, I'll keep in mind with what Zali said to me._

 _When we got out of the tunnel, the bright yellow sunshine illuminated our dust covered fur. I shook my black wolf fur and stretched my wolf legs. The ground below us felt good on my wolf paws because it was soft dirt and some patches of grass to add some colour to it. When I turned my wolf head to look over at the others, the yellow light gave their fur a shade of a lighter golden hue. I let out a yawn to show how tired I was feeling. And judging by the looks on the others faces, they too were tired as well. Couldn't blame them because it felt like eternity of being in there. We all came to the conclusion of taking a quick nap to regain our strength. Especially Kiba considering he got a hell of a beating from those assholes._

 _We all laid down in a secluded area so that the humans wouldn't see us. I had my wolf body curled up with my wolf tail touching my wolf nose and my wolf head was turned to the left side a bit to make myself more comfortable and my wolf ears laid limply on my wolf head as I slept soundly. It surprised me fierce that I was able to sleep without any of those recurring nightmares and when I woke up, I was wide awake and didn't feel tired in the least bit._

A few hours pass by and the five of us move through the woods in our human forms. Kiba led the way, of course. Tsume was behind him with me a step behind him while Hige and Toboe remain in the back. Needless to say, Kiba said that our next goal is to get the flower maiden. I don't see why she would even be in this area. There's no flower scent here. It was stagnant and bland. I let my hands stay in my jacket pockets as we walked on to wherever the hell we're going. From behind us, Toboe and Hige were having a conversation about the animals disappearing in the forest and with us being wolves, they probably ran off when we came here. Although I'm not too concerned with right now even though I was a bit hungry.

"So you want to give us some clue here?" Tsume questioned, sounding impatient. I swear I can't name one time when he was patient with this whole damn trip. "Sure." Kiba bluntly answered, focusing on the path ahead of us. He didn't even look back to answer his question. "Where exactly are we going?" the grey wolf asked. "Paradise." the white wolf answered vaguely. Well, I'm not surprised by that answer because he is straight up determined to make it to that place. What's so special about it? Needless to say, I have been told about it before when I was a pup but ever since my territory was torched about 5 months earlier; I don't see any reason to go there much less believe in it as much as that seemingly idiotic white wolf.

"And can you tell us what in the hell is guiding you there?" I question him, looking at the back of his head. "I'm going on instinct." he answered. We then all stop walking for a moment. "Here we go again. I just wish it felt like we were getting closer. Not that I'm complaining or anything." Hige sighed with his eyes shut. I glanced over to the tan wolf with cocked eyebrow. "Not complaining are you? Sure as hell sounds like it to me." I smirk, getting him to turn red out of embarrassment. Just then, the familiar high pitched sound of a noble ship hit my ears and it caught our attention. The sound was the exact same sound as the one back in Freeze City. It bothered me and I covered both of my ears in a attempt to block it out. Toboe did the same thing. Over the sound, Hige and Tsume were looking up as well as discussing the source of the ear piercing sound.

Suddenly, a huge shockwave struck behind the many trees that surrounded us and it threw us off balance, especially me because I winded up grabbing Tsume's arm without realizing it. For a moment, he looked down at me and I looked back at him. "Get off me." he seethed, using both of his hands to push me off him. I sigh in disbelief because he could be a bit nicer about it. Before we knew it, Kiba looked ahead of us. It was as if he was attracted by something that the rest of us weren't seeing. "Kiba, what are you doing?" I call, but he didn't seem to hear me. It was as if he was in some sort of trance that he can't get out of. "She's there…" the white wolf said as he started to walk to what was causing his hypnotic trance. "Hey, it's got nothing to do with us! Stay out of it!" Tsume growled, practically scolding him. "I can feel her…" Kiba whispered, still in a trance. "Feel what?" Hige exclaimed, confused on what Kiba meant. "I don't know… But it's so familiar. C'mon, don't you guys feel anything at all?!" Kiba answered with an irritated tone as he looked back at us with narrowed eyes. He really expected us to feel whatever the hell he's feeling.

He then starts to run at a full sprint towards that 'feeling.' I sigh and begin to run after him with my arms being pumped to help me run. Hige, Tsume, and Toboe then ran with us. The only question was… what was it that we're after. Because the further we ran, the more stronger that flower scent was getting. And when I looked up at the light grey clouded sky, something caught my eye. For the better part of the run down this trail, I kept both eyes on that shining star in the sky. But it's weird… why would there be a shining star in the middle of the day?

Soon enough, the five of us came face to face with a giant rock facade that we had no choice but to climb. Kiba was already up ahead of us. Then it was Tsume, me, Hige, and then Toboe who climbed the mountain. The more that we climbed, the greater that scent was. It was as if it was pulling me in a way that I can't explain. The others could feel it as well. "The scent's faint. But, something's definitely up there. Smells like… flowers." I say, sniffing the air. The further I climbed the rocky mountain, the more the rocks poked my palms. But I remained focused to reach the top. "Aw man. It's got the stink of a noble mixed in there too." Hige said in a complaint. "A noble?" Tsume replied quietly. I looked down at them for a moment. Were there nobles up there? I don't know.

We all make it up to the top one by one. First Kiba, then Toboe, me, Hige, and lastly Tsume. This landscape we were in is like a forest. Trees surrounded us and we walked down a single pathway. The more we walked down this path, the more a strange yet wonderful feeling overwhelmed me. "Wow… I don't know what this is but...I feel like running like I haven't ran before." I say, feeling my heartbeat escalate. "Me too! I feel so fuzzy inside!" Toboe breathed happily. At least I'm not the only one feeling this way. My cheeks also heated up intensely and they went red. From behind me, I could hear Hige quietly humming to himself. It was a happy tune. "This is that cool feeling you get before pouncing on a pretty girl." he stated coolly. For some reason, I didn't get offended by that because he learned to not make any move on me.

"Don't let your guard down. But there's a shiver up my spine too." Tsume said directly. All I did was gaze at him for a brief moment as I didn't think he'd be affected by this strange feeling. As tough as he is, I'm surprised by this. Kiba was the only one that didn't speak. A part of me understood why that was. The trees became thinner and thinner. We then make it to the end of the forest and I was amazed by what the trail led us to. In front of us was a sparkling lake that was surrounded by flowers. Growing up, I've never seen flowers like these before. Especially the lunar flowers that we keep hearing about. My eyes trail every inch of this place. It wasn't until my muscles freeze at what my eyes laid upon. I hear the shocked and quiet gasp of Kiba. There in front of us… was the flower maiden. She was looking down with her eyes shut and her feet were in the water. She had pink hair and red eyes.

She opened her eyes and looked up at us with a kind and gentle gesture. We all gasped in astonishment at her. "No way…! It's… It's…" I stammer, unable to find the words as they were stuck in my throat. "My heart just skipped a beat!" Toboe exclaimed in surprise, putting his fists up to his chest. "Who is that?" Tsume questioned, seeming skeptical of the flower maiden. I couldn't take my eyes off of the flower maiden, who had gotten up from the rock she was sitting on. Kiba started to saunter his way towards her. The flower maiden turned to face us and held her arms open a little to greet Kiba, who was now in his wolf form. He blended right in due to his wolf fur being pure white. When he was in front of her, she smiled and started to run her fingers through his wolf fur, getting his wolf ears to lower in tranquility. He seemed to be at peace. She then wrapped her arms around his wolf neck as she hugged him gently.

"Aw… I wanna be held like that." Toboe said breathlessly. "Is that her…?" I ask, feeling my heart pound heavily in my chest. Seeing the flower maiden before my very eyes gave me this new feeling of warmth and redemption. It felt amazing. "Yeah… That's the flower maiden." Hige answered in a bubbly tone. He was just as excited as I was in seeing the flower maiden. The only one who wasn't as enthused about seeing her was Tsume and I don't understand why because was feeling what we were feeling a little while ago. The flower maiden and Kiba were now walking out of the sparkling lake in his human form, hand in hand. She looks at all of us with a warm short smile. She then looks at me. _I stood in wolf form with my wolf head raised all the way with my wolf ears raised in interest. "_ It's wonderful to meet you… Luna." _she spoke in the most soft spoken yet sweet toned voice ever. My wolf eyes widen and my wolf jaws dropped a little. She then proceeds to pet me gently._ _At her very touch, it was as if all the burden's and stress that was put on my shoulders was suddenly lifted. I can't explain just how… fantastical her touch felt against my black wolf fur. My wolf ears lowered slightly and I closed my wolf eyes just like Kiba did. Even my wolf tail was wagging some because of this. I couldn't get enough of this._

About 5 minutes later, we were back on another trail. Kiba was back holding hands with the flower maiden as they walked ahead in front of us. "That's Cheza alright." Hige said coolly. "She's both a maiden and a flower? That's pretty weird." Toboe inquired with a chuckle. I glance over at the curious red wolf and smirk. "Not exactly, Toboe. You see, those nobles seemed to have too much times on their hands and she was created in a lab somewhere from those said nobles. I can thank Hige for this valuable information." I say, making hand gestures in the process. Hige blushed and chuckled lightly. "It's no trouble." he responded. "Do you two really believe that's what happened? That some stupid nobles made her?" Tsume said, trying to downplay this. All I did was roll my eyes and kept walking. We had crossed a metal bridge that overlooked a narrow river and through a veranda. Soon, coming to a building that seemed to weary down.

But then, that calm feeling that I had soon died away when I heard the sound of those damned soldiers started to enter this building. "Tell me I'm not the only one that heard that?" I ask, suddenly feeling on edge. "No… I hear it too." Hige answered, now on edge as well. Then, rapid gunfire was heard not far from behind us. We all ran down to where Kiba and Cheza were. They weren't too far ahead of us. "Kiba, we're in serious trouble! They're gunshots!" I shout in a panic, standing in a fighting stance. Both of my fists were clenched. "We're surrounded!" Toboe exclaimed, just as panicked as I was. Tsume pushes past us and angrily glares at Cheza, who was on her knees. Kiba stood in front of her protectively.

"No! It wasn't her!" he spat defensively. Tsume was pissed at this and stepped closer. "She screwed with our noses!" he growled. Hearing that pissed me off and I quickly stepped in between them even I knew that wasn't the smartest thing to do. "Knock it off! Taking your anger out on her or one of us isn't going to help anything! Just leave her be!" I exclaim, feeling protective of Cheza. Tsume appeared to be surprised at my spring to defend Cheza. There was no way she'd be the cause of the soldiers coming after us. So he can't be jumping to conclusions. Just then, two sets of footsteps were heard from behind me, getting me to look behind me to see Kiba walking with Cheza in the opposite direction. "Hey, where are you going?!" Tsume scolds in irritance. I shake my head to clear it. "I'll go with him. You guys go on ahead." I said, turning to follow Kiba. However, Tsume grabbed me by my arm. "No, you're not." he replied, having a firm hold on my arm. However, I was able to free myself. "Look, someone's gotta keep an eye on them. Wouldn't want them to be too reckless with the flower maiden now would we?" I say, slightly turning away from him.

He just stared at me for a minute in a way that I could only describe as worry. It was as if he didn't want me to go because he cared about me in that way. But he shook his head before turning his back towards me."Fine. Go. But don't get yourself hurt." he proclaimed before turning away and bounding off in the other direction. Hige decided to go with him. Before I left, Toboe stopped me. I look back at him. "Let me go with you." Toboe said, having a hold on my arm. All I did was nod at him before the two of us take off in the direction Kiba and Cheza went off too. They weren't far off from where the rest of us were. We walked behind them closely. I kept my eyes peeled for any soldier that might want to take a shot at Cheza or one of us.

And I found that to be correct when I catch the silver glint of one of the soldier's gun. In a quick act, I jump at the human and bare my wolf fangs and let out a growl as I bit down on his throat, killing him instantly. Blood shot from his throat as he slowly fell to the ground. Another soldier took aim at me and I was about to kill him but I notice… Kiba beat me to it. He was knelt down by the human who tried to shoot me. It amazed me that he actually protected me. He looked over at me for a moment before telling me to go to where Cheza and Toboe were. I complied, of course, and turned around and got behind a wall of debris with Toboe and Cheza. "Luna, are you okay?" Toboe asked concerned. "Yeah, I'm fine. But we need to get the hell out of here." I inquire over the raging bullets. We had to remain covered so we wouldn't get ourselves shot.

To protect both of them, I had to shield them both with just my body. Just then, the gunfire died down. We all looked on to see that Tsume and Hige standing over a few dead soldiers. Tsume had a knife in his right hand and Hige dusting his hands to show that they've done a good job with covering us. Tsume, Hige, and Kiba met up and I couldn't make out what they were saying. Toboe and I noticed that Cheza walked ahead of us. "C'mon." I say, following her in a sprint. Toboe called the others over because there was a secret door that potentially led us out of here.

We all run down a corridor that lasted a few moments before we come to what appears to be a dead end. "What the hell?!" Hige exclaimed, breathlessly. I stood in a fighting stance and panted heavily. "It's no use! We're trapped!" Toboe cried. "You know, surrendering is always an option." Hige sighed. That response made me jerk my head towards him and an angered expression was written all over my face. Tsume was the exact same way. There's no way in hell we're surrendering like a bunch of cowards. "I'm just kidding! Kidding!" he cried, putting both hands up. He clearly didn't want his ass to get kicked because of that redundant comment. "That's what we thought." I say, looking away from him. Cheza paid no mind to our petty argument and walked to the wall. She placed one of her hands on it and it gave a faint glow.

The wall then moves to where it made a hole in the wall wide enough for us to fit in. "The wall just moved!" Toboe yelped, startled by the walls movement. "Who cares? Let's get out of here." Hige groaned, running ahead of us. We all followed behind him in a sprint. I stop at the entrance to see that Tsume wasn't following us. "Tsume, what the hell are you doing? Let's go!" I call, urging him to come with us. Tsume sighs in defeat and followed suit with me ahead of him. Once we were all in, the hole closed behind us and we were completely out of sight. No one would ever suspect that 5 wolves had taken the flower maiden out of here. Now that we got her, we can finally go to this Paradise place.


	10. Chapter 10 Song of Sleep

We were finally out of that run down mossy area and supposedly out of danger for the time being. It was dark out and I knew that we would be harder to see by those small devices that the nobles were using to detect any strange behaviour or anything out of the ordinary really. So we were careful enough to avoid them. We did have to be extra careful considering we have Cheza with us and the last thing we need right now is to get caught. When we could, we hid behind some debris to stay inconspicuous.

Once they were completely out of the picture, we would move quietly. Cheza was behind us, basically bounding down the rocky ledges. When I looked back at her, she was a couple feet behind us. She seemed calm about going down these rocky ledges and from what I saw she had a calm expression on her face with her arms spread out a little bit to help her keep her balance I can only presume. We got to the bottom of the mountain and I turn to face Cheza with one foot on a small ledge in front of me. Toboe yelped sharply and jolted forward because Cheza had one one foot hanging off the ledge. I too freaked a bit and was about to jump to get her away from there. But then, Cheza turned in our direction and bounded our way down to us. It calmed our nerves. "Whoo… she can tell?" Toboe wondered curiously. Hige turned his head to look back at the pup with his hands in his hoodie pockets, giving a smug glance.

"Well, she's a flower right?" the tan wolf asked lazily. Toboe looked at him with slightly widened eyes. "Yeah but how?" he questioned seeming perplexed. "With her antennae I guess." Hige shrugged. "She doesn't have them!" Toboe countered, his eyebrows furrowed. "We may not see them but they're probably invisible." Hige answers smugly. Toboe and I looked over at Cheza, who was standing by us with her hands behind her back. Her demeanor gave off a relaxing, calm exterior. "Do you guys think… she's on edge around us? If so then… why would she be?" Toboe wondered quietly. I twist my lips and looked down at my feet for a moment. It was honestly tough to figure that out. I didn't know what to think. "It's because you're all on edge around her." Kiba answered, getting us to look at him. "I'd have to agree with you there. I mean, who the hell wouldn't be on edge?" I stated, crossing my arms. That was partly true since I don't exactly know if I should feel at all comfortable at all with her around us despite me protecting her before.

"Luna is right. That maiden is not a human or a wolf. Not even a flower also. How're we supposed to trust something like that?" Tsume growls, looking back at us with a cold stare. Kiba looked back at him with that same stare as if he was offended at what the grey wolf presumed. Things got quiet for some time and I couldn't help but think just how much Tsume didn't trust Cheza. And he wasn't concealing it either. He made it very clear.

We continued our way down into the forested area and some of the moonlight penetrated through the thick trees of this walkway. Kiba took the lead with Cheza beside him. Tsume was ahead of me, Hige, and Toboe. "Are we really taking her with us?" Tsume asks. "Yeah." Kiba vaguely answered. "It doesn't seem like the smartest idea. She's better off staying here." Tsume answered in an annoyed scoff. "Well, I don't see what all the fuss is about. I can't be the only one who thinks it'll be nice to have the scent of lunar flowers around. Plus, leaving her here would be mean." Toboe answered, abstaining for Cheza to stay with us. "Right. She's better staying here with us than with those nobles. And I'd have to agree with Toboe on the flower part." I chime in, giving the pup a nudge. "Won't that make her nothing but a danger to us?" Tsume quoted, getting us to stop. All I did was roll my eyes and I sigh in disbelief. Now she's a danger to us? That's great.

Kiba glanced back at him with an angered stare, his eyebrows furrowed. "If she stinks up the place with her scent, our location is as good as gone in a matter of minutes." the grey wolf continued, hands on his hips. "Our noses are stronger than a humans nose." Kiba simply says. But Tsume wasn't buying what Kiba was saying. Kiba is right on one point. A wolf's nose is much stronger than a humans. So they wouldn't be able to smell the lunar flowers. "But my eyes say she's trouble. What good is she to us?" Tsume growled. Kiba turned completely around to face Tsume and looked as if he was ready to spring at him at any given moment. "Cheza's more important to us than anything else! And if you're a wolf, Tsume then you should know this!" Kiba growled, clenching his fists. All I did was shake my head at this and turn around to have my back to them. This didn't go unnoticed.

Toboe walked up to me and put his hand on my shoulder. My head turns towards him. He looked so worried about me. "Are you okay, Luna? You look upset." Toboe asked. I put part of my bangs over my ear so that my nicked ear was revealed. I look away from him a moment and at the my feet. "Yeah… it's just Tsume's not getting it. I do understand his point about Cheza being made from a noble as she's hard to trust but… she's better off staying with us than with us. I mean… I don't fully know if she's truly gonna get us to paradise... " I say, rubbing both arms. "Oh, don't worry Luna. I know we'll get there. Now that we have her, we'll surely get there. And plus having the scent of flowers will be nice. Don't you think?" Toboe assured, giving me a warm smile. His words got me to grin. He wasn't wrong about that. The scent of flowers will override the stink of the nobles. So that's a nice touch it would seem.

Just then, a sudden sweet sound filled the air. Almost like… singing. Toboe and I turned around in a soft gasp. Cheza was slightly looking up at the sky with her eyes closed. She was facing the moon as she begun to sing. It was as if it was a lullaby of some sort. The second it hit my ears, a sudden heaviness began to weigh down on my shoulders. With each passing second, I grew more sleepier and sleepier. Dots covered my vision and I stumbled back into a tree. "Wha… what is happening? Why… do I… feel so tired…?" I groan, sliding down onto the ground. It was as if that weight was pushing me down. I then fall onto my right side; my body was touching the cool ground below us. Turns out, I wasn't the only one feeling this way. "Damn it, Luna! Toboe, don't fall asleep!" Tsume scolded, struggling to stay awake. Before I was able to respond, the darkness took me. I was out cold.

 _Dreams began to fill my head. One in particular was that I was back in my old pack. I was running through the fields with my two siblings, Samara, and Aaron, who had been killed. I felt the cool wind run through my black wolf fur. I remember of when my grandmother Mahika and my grandfather Zeus talking to us about the wonders of paradise. Ever since that bitch took everything from me, I forgot about it and refused to even go there because it would only remind me of my family's death. I surely miss them… I wish they were still here._

 _When morning came, I found myself in something warm once again. I found that my wolf head was laying on… Tsume's wolf foreleg. I was even pressed up next to him so that our wolf fur touched. I end up jumping back in shock so that my wolf hind legs were underneath me and my left wolf fore paw was hanging in the air slightly. My wolf ears was lowered some. Cheza looked up at me with a smile._ "Good morning Luna." _Cheza sweetly said with a smile. My golden wolf eyes gaze over at the flower maiden and feel myself calm down, setting my left wolf fore paw down on the ground gently. "Morning Cheza." I reply, my tone saddened. "_ Did you have sweet dreams?" _she asks me. My wolf ears raise and my wolf head raise a bit. "Y-Yeah. I did." I fibbed, knowing that it wouldn't get by her. She looked at me forlornly._ "Do you miss your family, Luna? This one can feel your sadness." _she tells me, her hand on her chest. My wolf head lowered all the way along with my wolf ears. "Yes I do… I miss them so much…" I say, sounding like I was on the verge of tears. She ushered me to come over to her._

 _I stood up on all four wolf paws and slowly walk to her. Once I approached her, her hand came up and touched me on my wolf head, the feeling of her fantastical touch once again soothed me, getting my wolf ears to lower and my wolf eyes to close. Her fingers ran through my wolf fur. "_ It is alright… they'll always be will be with you… even when you don't see them. They'll always be in your heart." _she told me, stroking my black wolf fur. I whimpered at her words and tilted my wolf head to the right. Her words never felt more reassuring. As much as I did miss my family so much, I knew that she was right. They're still with me even if I can't see them._

After a few more hours, Hige, Toboe, and I had gone into town to get a couple of things. Kiba too came with us but for a different reason. He was trying to find a path out of here so that we would leave this place. I really did want to get out of here. The three of us split up to find us something for the pack and Cheza. As I moved through town, I couldn't help but think about… why I once again woke up snuggling with Tsume again? Why does that keep happening? Surely I moved in my sleep but it could also mean something else. But… I couldn't possibly be falling for him? Could I? No… it's not possible. He wouldn't want me to. Frankly, I highly doubt that he'd ever fall for a she-wolf such as myself.

I ended up finding us some food to hold us over for the time being. We all decided to meet up at the edge of town so no humans wouldn't suspect our 'odd' behaviour. They think we're one of them and for the most part while we're here, we have no choice. I waited for Hige and Toboe with the sack of food in my hands as I leaned against the cracked wall with one leg propped up against it. It only took about half an hour before Toboe showed up, carrying what I can only assume to be a fur coat or something like that. "Where'd you get that thing?" I questioned, pushing myself off of the wall with the food cradled in my arms. "From the market. You think Cheza will like it?" Toboe said with a smile and he held it out. I eye it up and down and kind of frowned because I have a feeling Cheza won't like it very much.

"You sure about that, Toboe? I don't think she'll-" I started but he interrupted me. "We never know unless we try. Let's not doubt it." he said, draping it over his shoulder. At that, I give him a warming smile to assure him. "You know what, you're right. I shouldn't judge it. Maybe Hige will be the same." I say, adjusting the partly heavy bag of food. Toboe nodded at what I said and we continued on our way down the alleyway. We moved at a normal walking pace so we didn't draw attention to ourselves. We couldn't let the humans know that two wolves were walking in their eyesight.

After a few minutes, we had found Hige not to far off from us. He was carrying some light pink boots in his arms. He then focuses his eyes on what Toboe's holding. "What the hell is that thing?" he questioned, his eyebrows furrowed. I look from him to Toboe, who once again held it out. "Just in case she might be cold." Toboe informed. "What're you talking about? Cold's got nothing to do with it. At Luna brought something worth our while." Hige pointed out, looking at the bag of food that I had. "Well, you're no better Hige. What will shoes do to benefit Cheza?" I questioned. Hige raised his head and closed his eyes smugly. "I feel it'll help her delicate feet." he replied. Toboe and I gave him the same unsurprised expression. Should've known he'd be a suck up.

"Hmmm. Even if she's a flower?" Toboe questioned. Before either of us could say anything else, something in the corner of my eye got me to look behind us. I saw the form of an old lady with long white hair hanging over her shoulders, sunglasses covering her eyes, and a dark maroon shawl over her shoulders. She was standing in a close alleyway about a few feet from us. "Guys, let's get out of here." I say, feeling unnerved by this woman's presence. The red wolf and the tan wolf look in my direction and we started casually walking back to where the others were. Something about this lady just didn't sit right with me and I wanted to be as far from her as possible.

After a bit, neither of us could shake off the feeling that we were being watched. It sent shivers up my spine. "I can't be the only one that feels like we're being watched, right?" I said, my voice on edge as I looked around. "No… I feel it too." Hige said also on edge. "I heard something from the cats here. They said there's a ghost around here." Toboe said, lowering his voice. My eyes widen a bit at that. "A ghost?" Hige and I say in sync. I glance behind me to see that same woman that I saw earlier. Shivers ran up my spine at seeing her and I look ahead to avoid eye contact. "Did you guys see that?" Hige asked us. "Y-Yeah. Is that the… ghost?" Toboe quivered, his shoulders hunched over a bit. "Whatever it is, I'm not sticking around to see." I say anxiously, gripping onto the sack of food. The three of us started to speed our pace because this lady's starting to creep us the hell out.

After a couple of minutes, our jogging gradually turned to running. We made two corners and stopped to catch our breath. We were all hunched over and we breathed heavily. It didn't take long we were sent running again because we saw her again. "Ahh!" Toboe yelled, his eyes widened. "Run!" Hige urged, taking the lead. "You don't have to tell me twice!" I exclaim, running ahead of them. We continued to run and didn't stop until we make it back to where Tsume, Kiba, and Cheza were waiting on us. Tsume was leaning against a single wall with his arms crossed over his chest.

We stop and start to catch our breaths. "Wow! That was rough!" Hige pants. "We're back!" Toboe beams. "You three sure took a while." Kiba said, noting of how long we took. "Sorry about that. But we did find a few things. Here." I say, tossing the food to him, which he catches easily. I walk past Hige and Toboe to go next to Cheza, who was sitting on the tree stump with her hands in her lap. I end up sitting beside her on her right side.

"What the hell do you plan to do with that?" Tsume questions, taking note of what Toboe was holding. "What do you think? It's a present, silly." Toboe smiled, bringing over the fur coat and placing it over Cheza's shoulders. Toboe steps back and waits for a reaction from her. It didn't take long because her eyes dropped to her knees in disappointment. "I guess I was right. She doesn't exactly fancy it." I say, shrugging my shoulders at the saddened pup. He was so sure that Cheza would like it. He was proven wrong with this one.

"It sure looks like it." Kiba comments. "Told you so. Even Luna saw it would be a fail. Besides, these are way better." Hige smugly says, bringing the shoes over to her. I just roll my eyes at that. Once he set the shoes down in front of her feet, I first thought she would react the same way she did with Toboe's 'gift'. She gazes down at them for a moment before slipping them on her feet. They were a perfect fit. She stands up without an issue and begins to dance around in them while giggling happily. Hearing her giggle couldn't be any more sweet because that reminded me of when I played with my siblings at a young age.

Hige was happy with the fact that Cheza liked these boots rather than that fur cloak. Just then, the giggling ceased. It got us to look in her direction. I instantly jump up at the sight and stand in a fighting stance. It was that same lady that Hige, Toboe, and I saw earlier. I thought we outran her! We gasped at the sight of her. "Who are you?" Kiba asked directly. The lady dismisses his straightforward question and started sauntering her way over to Cheza. Kiba got in front of Cheza and blocked her from the old lady's view. She stops and grins at us that gave me a weird feeling. "You five. You are wolves." she presumed, getting me to jolt back in a short gasp. How did she know what we were?

"Old lady, what's your name?" Kiba inquired. At Kiba's question, she slowly removes her sunglasses. When she opens her eyes, I swear I felt a cold chill run up my spine. Her eyes were exactly like Cheza's… all red. "Old lady, tell us who you are." Kiba demanded. "The Hanabito is what we were called." the old lady answered, her voice rough as if she hasn't talked in a while. "This one can tell from your scent. But you're not like this one?" Cheza calmly asked her. "You're a perfect creation. You're not like me." the Hanabito explains. I furrow my eyebrow because it didn't make sense to me. How is Cheza a perfect creation? Hige has told me she was made from the nobles but… we some more explaining from this old flower lady.

Suddenly, the stench of those damn soldiers hit my nose and it caused me to perk up. "Guys. They're coming." I warn, my voice on edge. "She's right, we can't stay here." Tsume agreed with me. The others listened to our warning and we all booked it from that small area. The old lady was leading us through a narrow grove to avoid attention from the oncoming soldiers. Us wolves bounded off the trees as we followed the flower lady until we reached a seemingly hollowed tree that had a single wooden door and the tree was covered in vines that made it blend in with the rest of the grove.

She held open the door for us and we all went in one by one. Toboe was the last to go in as I was in front of him. Once we were all inside, she shut the door behind us and we waited for the soldiers to pass us. We remain quiet as the sound of the heavy metal that rattled on their bodies grew louder and louder. It was an agonizing few minutes before they moved on, not suspecting 5 wolves and two flowers in hiding.

 _The old lady allowed Cheza to sit in her chair while the rest of us stood around her. We wolves were in wolf form. Kiba stood next to her with his wolf head raised as well as his wolf ears. Tsume was sitting down with his wolf head partially raised and his wolf ears lowered. Hige also sat down with his wolf head raised and his wolf ears raised. Toboe was sitting down with his wolf ears partially raised while his wolf head was raised. I sat down in between Tsume and Hige with my wolf head raised and my wolf ears raised. My golden wolf eyes were focused on the old flower. She was telling us about how she's the last of her kind after witnessing the other ones wither and die._

 _At this, my wolf head lowers and I closed my wolf eyes and tried to repress the memories of losing my family. But after a minute, I reopened them but did not lift my wolf head. All we could do was listen to what this lady had to say. She then said that we couldn't take Cheza with us. This set Kiba off because he bared his wolf fangs at the old lady. "Why can't we?!" Kiba growled. He didn't want to leave Cheza here with this old lady. Honestly, I'm not so sure if we should take her. Tsume sure as hell doesn't want anything to do with her because of his Mr. Tough Guy streak he's got going. Hige and Toboe would be more accepting to her._ "It'll lead to destruction!" _the old lady spats at him. "You can't be serious!" Kiba growled, his wolf hackles rising a bit. "_ I'm not talking to you!" _she spats again, getting him to calm down. He hides his wolf fangs and sits down with his wolf head and wolf ears raised up all the way. The old lady begins to speak again._

"I give off the faintest scent of the flower. It'll die of eventually _." she spoke as if nothing happened._ "What should this one do?" _Cheza wondered, putting her hand to her chest. "_ You have the ability to sustain the life of a hanabito. You must stay here." _the old lady answered softly. Kiba sprung up and raised his wolf tail to show some dominance. "Cheza, don't listen to her!" he said, turning his wolf head towards her. His wolf eyes were focused on her for a moment. "_ Wolf. Just what do you plan to accomplish by taking this girl with you?" _the old lady stated, looking at Kiba. The white wolf looks at the old lady with a stumped look. "_ We're going to Paradise." _Cheza answered confidently. Hearing that made my wolf head raise. So we're going there after all and she would help us lead the way._

 _Then, Tsume's wolf ears raise and he stands to his wolf paws. He looks out of the window that was above us. "Everyone stay quiet." he softly growled, slightly baring his wolf fangs._ We all look out of the window in human form. "Luna, there's that woman we saw in Freeze City." Hige whispers. I look out of the window so that only my eyes were visible above the window. And just like Hige said, that blonde haired lady was standing outside of this place. "Yeah, he's right." I said as soon as I saw her. That's a possible sign that they might've found us. "Let's go." Kiba said directly. We had to leave and we had to do it now.

And with that, we all leave the old flower lady to deal with this woman. Kiba and Cheza hid behind the tree while the rest of us were hiding in the tree. We waited for about 5 minutes before the four of us jump down from the tree and landed by her in a circle formation. I stood in between Toboe and Tsume so that I was at her side. Needless to say, she was startled by our startled presence. She jumped back and yelled out of shock. "You-You kids! Who are you?! Tell me what's going on!" she demands. Neither of us answer her. Kiba stepped out from behind the tree with Cheza holding his hand. This got this human's attention and she turned to face them. "Cheza!" she called in seeing her. Kiba gives the woman a long cold stare for the better part of a few seconds before he jumps into the air with Cheza behind him. He lands on a ledge in his wolf form and looked down at her with a soft glance.

 _The rest of us stand in wolf form as well. I keep my wolf ears raised all the way along with my wolf head. I didn't show that I was a threat to her and neither did the others. She first looked at Kiba with a look of shock and it transferred to the rest of us. She obviously hasn't seen wolves in the flesh before._ When we turned back to human form, we bolted out of there without a second thought. We couldn't hang around there anymore because I have seen the soldiers that were with her the last time we saw them.

The six of us make our way into town so we were out of the humans eyesight. Once we make it to the heart of it, we stopped to take a breather. I panted heavily while bent over. I rested my hands on my knees to hold myself up. "She's crying…" Cheza said, getting me to look up. Cheza stood in front of us with her head lowered. "You mean the old lady?" Kiba asked. It was that obvious. We all exchange glances for a moment. Did that mean she was going to wither like the other flowers?

"Kiba, can this one stay with you?" she asked, turning to the white wolf. "Cheza, you have to stay with us." Kiba answers. She turns to me next with a look of sadness on her face. "Luna?" she said. I simply smiled at her. "Of course, Cheza." I answer wholeheartedly. Of course I wanted her to come with us. I don't have the heart to deny that. She turned to Hige with that same expression. "Hige?" she said. The tan wolf simply chuckled lightly this and gave her a genuine smile. "Sure! When you're on a journey the more the merrier!" Hige agreed happily. She turned to Toboe, who was leaning against a wall. "Toboe?" she said, who got him to grin lightly with a happy chuckle. She then turned to Tsume, who had his hand on his hip. I was thinking that he would say no but his answer surprised me fierce.

He sighs and looks to the ground with his eyes shut. "Fine you can tag along. If it gets us to where we're going I can put up with you." Tsume answered with a inkling of annoyance in his voice. That didn't matter because as long as all of us agreed with taking Cheza, that is what mattered. Even though I didn't particularly believe in Paradise as much as Kiba does, I'm happy to have Cheza with us.

Afterwards, we ended up going back into town to find a place to settle down for the night to keep us separated from the humans. Kiba got Cheza a pink long poncho that had a hoodie so that Cheza could be well hidden from the humans. We'd figure out a plan to get the hell out of here but we're staying the night. Hopefully we wouldn't have to get ourselves caught.


	11. Chapter 11 Misgivings

Night was upon us much faster than I thought. We hadn't found a place to hide yet and I was getting rather impatient. It was a little hard because of how many soldiers were patrolling this city like they were ants. We just walked casually through the alleyways with Cheza in front of us. We didn't make any suspicion to the humans here. The stench in this place was horrible and I'm sure Hige would complain about it because of his delicate nose. We take another alleyway where I could smell the scent of alcohol. God, it was awful.

" _Grr…"_ a low, familiar growl ambiented. It got Cheza to look over through the doorway of the bar. Kiba, Cheza, and I looked over to see who was growling. There, tied up at the bar entrance, was the dark blue mutt that was hunting us down. She had her head lifted with both ears lifted in interest. Her bright blue eyes were opened wide as she saw us. "We have a friend, even here." Cheza chirps, bounding over to the dog. Kiba was behind her instantly. Something told me that I needed to stay for this therefore I stood at the doorway with my hand on the cracked wall and watched. "Luna, you coming?" Tsume urged, looking back. I glance at him for a second. "Yeah. I'll catch up." I answer, looking back ahead. He didn't say anything back.

My heart started to beat like a chaotic spiral at what I saw what was happening. "You never knew what you were. You never did." Cheza said, reaching to the dog. Her jaw dropped a bit before backing up at Cheza's foreign touch. Why was she reacting like that? Only a wolf would react like this towards Cheza's touch. "There is wolf in you too." Cheza says calmly. A gasp escaped from my throat and my eyes widened. There's no way that she could be half wolf. If she's got wolf in her, then why is she hunting down her own kind? "You were alone your whole life, were you not?" Cheza wondered calmly. I then walked past the entryway to catch up with the others. I'm surprised that the very dog we were being hunted by is half wolf. It's crazy…

By morning, the wolfdog had faded from my mind. I was back to focusing on finding a place to hide temporarily so we could figure out a way out. Hige was our savior because he ended up finding us a run down bus that lay in the middle of a junkyard. "This should be the perfect place to hide!" Hige inquires, having his fists clenched in excitement. "Cheza, you stay here with Toboe and Luna." Kiba instructed. "You can count on us." Toboe said, giving him a thumbs up. "Don't worry guys. We'll howl if anything happens." I say, putting a hand on my hip. As long as two wolves stay here with Cheza, nothing will happen to her. I don't think humans will be dumb enough to waltz in here.

After that, Kiba, Tsume, and Hige had left to scout around. Toboe, I, and Cheza, had decided to bunk down at the very back of the bus while we waited on them. Cheza sat in between Toboe and I and on her knees. There was a hole directly above us and the sunlight was shining down through it. She looked relaxed because she had her eyes closed and had a smile on her face. Was she basking in the sunlight? Since she was a flower, it does make sense. I had my knees pulled up to my chest with my arms wrapped around them while Toboe had one leg out in front of him and the other bent upwards. "I like this. The idea of friends waiting for other friends. It's a real nice feeling. You know what I mean?" Toboe optimistically stated, also looking up at the ceiling. "Yeah… I guess you can say that." I reply modest. It does feel good to have other wolves to be around but, I was so used to be on my own ever since my family died.

We then looked at Cheza with the same expression. "What is it?" I asked, looking up at what she was looking at. She opened her eyes and gave a warming smile that honestly sent a good feeling through me. "This one is stuffed. And you two?" she softly speaks, giving Toboe and I a happy expression. Toboe and I grinned and gave a light chuckle. I will admit that I got a soft spot for Cheza. There was something about her that gave me a warm feeling. And I got to be honest when I say that she makes me feel happy inside.

Suddenly, the sound of someone yelling brought us out of our moment. "What the hell?" I gasp, getting up from my spot to see what the hell that was. When I looked outside, I saw that there were two soldiers chasing three human boys. It concerned me and it was the type where I shouldn't be concerned but I couldn't help but be intrigued of what was going on. "Toboe, stay here. I'm gonna go see what's going on." I said, looking at Toboe and Cheza. "Please be careful Luna. And hurry." Toboe said, sounding worried. I stand at the doorway and look halfway out of the door. I gave them a half smile to show that I promised to be back in one piece. All I was going to do was see what the hell is going on over there before coming back.

Afterwards, I bolted towards where those humans ran off to. It wasn't that hard to find them because they just took a couple of turns. I had to remain inconspicuous. Once the three boys split up, those soldiers had caught up with them. They seemed to be harassing them for stealing from what I can only assume. But they ended up losing sight of them. I hid behind one of the broken pedestals to remain out of sight but I did look over a little bit to see what was going on.

"Those weren't ordinary kids!" one of the soldiers says in a panicked voice. He was shaking and his gun rattled in his hands. "Not that again. Stop being a coward." his accomplice said, turning around to face him. "But they weren't carrying any weapons! How else did I get these cuts? They acted as if they were animals!" the first soldier fidgeted. Animals? Those kids couldn't have been wolves too? Maybe not. "Now that you mention it, that woman was saying something about that. Something about wolves." the second soldier inquired, getting the fidgety soldier to jump a little bit. "Wolves?!" he exclaimed, turning around. He then catches a glimpse of me. "Shit!" I exclaim through my enclosed teeth, quickly hiding behind the pedestal completely.

"There's someone there!" that soldier exclaimed. "You're probably seeing things." his friend said, sounding nonchalant. "N-No! I'm sure there was someone! Hey come out!" the first soldier exclaimed. "You know what? You can find whoever you saw, I'm going ahead." the second soldier said, not wanting any part of this. Oh no, I don't want him to find me because I saw that they had guns on them. How am I gonna get back to Toboe and Cheza if they had spotted me? I can't lead these guys back to them.

"Have to get away…" I whisper to myself, trying to find a path that'll lead them away from Toboe and Cheza. Off to the right, there was a single passageway that I could go through. I look behind me once more before taking off in a sprint. My footsteps seemed to multiply when I started running. That meant that soldier was after me. _I winded up turning around in my wolf form with my wolf fangs bared. The soldier was shocked and scared to see that I'm one of the wolves. The soldier stops in his tracks and held his gun out to me. I stop in my tracks with my wolf fangs bared. My wolf head remained low as well as my wolf ears. He seemed scared because of seeing a wolf on the verge of killing him._

"Get away from me!" _he cried, running in the other direction. After he turned the other direction, I lift my wolf head before turning the direction that I was going to. Hmph, that human was a big wuss._ I finally make it back after a few direct turns and I found that Toboe and Cheza were still in the bus. Once they saw me, they were relieved to see that I was in one piece. "Luna, what happened?" Toboe asked me as I make it back there. "There were soldiers chasing human kids. I tried listening to what they were saying but one of them caught me." I answer taking my place back next to them. "They hadn't hurt you have they?" Cheza asked, giving me a concerned gaze. "No. He didn't. He just ran away. Damn coward." I said, stretching my limbs.

"We're glad you're okay." Toboe said with a grin. "Yeah, I am too." I reply, letting my head lean back against the bus and closing my eyes. I didn't know that I had fallen asleep until I felt my head pound a little, which sucked. The sudden shifting of the wind helped me wake up all the way. "Ah!" I gasp, jolting awake with my limbs in the air. I didn't even notice that Toboe and Cheza weren't with me. "Guys? What the hell is…?" I groan, pushing myself to my feet. When I stood, I could see they were hiding behind one of the seats. There was no danger coming so why were they hiding?

When I walk to them, I directly ask what was causing them to hide. But before I got an answer, Toboe winds up grabbing me by my arm to pull me down behind the seat. I guess I had no choice but to comply. Why he didn't wake me up to have me hide with him to begin with I'll never know. I believed that someone was coming but when I saw Kiba walk in, I was wrong because Toboe and Cheza jumped out at him in an attempt to scare him. I just stand straight up and brush myself down. "For the record, I wasn't apart of this." I said, walking out from behind the bus seat. Kiba didn't seemed phased at all by the attempt to scare him. He just stared at the pup and Flower Maiden with a blank expression. Toboe seemed embarrassed by this and he chuckled nervously. "What took ya so long?" Toboe said, putting his hands behind his head to change the subject.

Hige then walks in just a minute after Kiba did. "Welcome back. What'd you find, Hige?" I asked, looking at the tan wolf. He looks at me with his hands in his pockets. "They've got us surrounded. So our best bet is to move at night." he said with determination. Kiba nods once at him before turning to us. He must've found something as well. "There's a place not to far from here that the local's here call 'The Forest of Death'." he said to us. Just the very mention of a forest of death is scary enough but, we had to remain optimistic about it. No mere human, I'm sure, would survive in something like that. Maybe wolves can. "Man… that sounds scary." Toboe shudders, hugging his arms. "Hey, don't worry. We have strong noses, we'll be out of there in no time." I say, trying to stay optimistic. "Yeah! I agree with Luna here, we'll be out of there soon enough with our noses!" Hige agreed with me, looking pumped. I couldn't help but crack a smile at that.

Tsume soon walked in with his own information. "How's it looking?" Kiba asked. We all looked at the grey wolf as he started to speak. "I found us a route that we can escape through." he tells us. "Finally! We can get out of here!" Toboe exclaimed with excitement. He was ready to leave here just as much as I was. Silently, I was the most antsy to get the hell out of here because I've had enough with these damn humans.

Before it got completely dark, we had gotten the hell out of there before any of the soldiers could spot us. Kiba, Toboe, and Cheza had decided to go ahead and head in the direction of our escape route while Tsume, Hige, and I took care of rest of the guards. We would have to be quick with this because we had to meet up with Kiba, Toboe, and Cheza. Plus, I felt the need to kick some ass.

We make it to their base fairly easily. They were on their radios with their backs turned to us. "Hm, perfect. They won't see us coming." I smirk, giving a cheeky grin. Tsume looks at me with a raised eyebrow. "Damn, I didn't think you'd want to take out the rest of these soldiers with us." he said. "Well, I'm not a she-wolf who likes to sit out on the sidelines. I've had enough of these humans." I reply, giving him that same grin. The grey wolf seemed to be taken aback by my confident attitude. I've learned to toughen up since then. "What're we waiting for? Let's kick some ass." Hige whispered, ready to go. I'd have to agree with him on that.

Hige and I swiftly jump down to where those soldiers were so that we were standing behind them. They didn't seem to notice us to begin with. I stood next to Hige while Tsume was waiting on us. "Roger that. They have gotten away." that soldier said into his radio. That's when Hige taps the guy on the soldier to get his attention. Once he turns around to face us, Hige asks, "Who got away?" "Yeah, would you mind telling us?" I say with a hand on my right hip. The soldiers were immediately alerted by our arrival. Once they saw us, they automatically started to shoot at us. But Hige and I were quick to jump out of the way with our agility. "They're here! They're-!" another soldier tried to say but I ended up killing him with my wolf fangs. His body didn't wait another moment to fall onto the ground.

Before killing another one, I see that Tsume offed one with the use of his knife, Hige had killed a couple with his wolf fangs. I end up pinning one against the ground with my strength. The soldier glared at me with a searing rage. "You bitch! You and your friends are going to be killed if you don't hand over the target!" he exclaimed. His insults were not phasing me in the least bit. "Hm, try me. Don't screw with wolves, asshole." I snarl, showing my wolf fangs before killing him by biting into his throat. Blood shot out from his wound. "Luna! C'mon!" Tsume called, from the top of the mountain. I look at him and use my agility to jump straight into the air to get out of the soldiers view. Needless to say, they proceeded to shoot at us once again but missed with every single bullet. I hopped from one ledge to another with my fists clenched.

The air started to shift again as Tsume, Hige, and I headed back to Kiba, Cheza, and Toboe. They were waiting for us by the escape route. We jumped down to where they were swiftly. "Hey, sorry it took so long." Tsume said. "There were soldiers everywhere." I add, popping my knuckles. Hige gives a thumbs up along with a smile. "Yep, it was a successful operation." he said, with a chuckle. It honestly felt great to overpower those soldiers and kill them. They should know better than to mess with us wolves because they don't know what we're capable of. The sheer thrill of kicking some feeble humans asses was just amazing.

Suddenly, the sudden shot of a bullet caused all of us to jump out of our skin. I glance down at where the bullet was. It was close to my right foot. We all look up to see where the bullet had come from. There on top of a ledge, was that damn hunter that Toboe, Tsume, and I saw back in Freeze City. I had also seen him and his wolfdog before I went in the domed city. "You damn wolves! You won't fool me again!" he snarled, holding up his gun before he started to shoot at us. We scattered like ants in an attempt to avoid getting shot. Those repeated gunshots rung in my ears. I ended up tripping over my own two feet to where I fell on my face. "Luna!" Tsume exclaimed, noticing that I've fallen.

I look up to see the hunter about to shoot me before Tsume suddenly grabs me by my wrists to get me out of the way. The hunter took the shot and the bullet almost hit me in my leg. Tsume had actually saved me. When I stand to my feet, I see that Cheza had fallen. Kiba didn't hesitate to get in front of her in a protective stance. He ended up taking the next shot, causing him to reveal his wolf form for a second. "Kiba!" Cheza cried, seeing Kiba getting shot by that damn hunter. After that shot, my ears caught the sound of him running out of bullets. _With that, we all ran away from that area in our wolf forms as fast as we could. More bullets could be heard from behind us as I'm pretty sure that hunter was firing more out of anger. That didn't matter though. None of us are stopping to check. We were now heading into the Forest of Death, which I'm not looking forward to._


	12. Chapter 12 Forest of Death

In entering this damn forest, I knew that it was living up to its name. The scent of it smelled very stagnant and I felt suffocated within here. I'm usually not one to complain about stupid things like this however, I now got a reason to complain. It was very grey and thick. So thick that I couldn't see the sky or nothing. But on the plus side of things, we'd be hidden from the prying eyes of the humans for the time being. That's the only advantage of this place. The six of us walked casually through it.

"Man, this place is depressing. Aren't forest's supposed to be… I don't know, alive?" Hige comments, taking note of how dead this place was. I just roll my eyes and walk beside Tsume with my eyes looking in front of me. Here we go… "Did you forget that this the Forest of Death, Hige?" Toboe reminded. Kiba had looked over his right shoulder to glance at the tan wolf. "That's why the humans can't follow us in here." he said before looking ahead. "Psh, yeah, what were you expecting? I don't like it either but I'm not saying anything to complain." I add, not turning my head. This isn't exactly the Forest of Life, though mentally we wish it was. "Well, compasses don't apply to us or anything. But, shouldn't there at least be some animals? Such as rabbits or foxes?" Hige comments, making it clear that he was hungry. We stop walking and turn ourselves towards his direction.

"Rabbits? Sounds to me someone needs a snack." I smirk, teasing the tan wolf. "Sue me!" Hige spats at me but all I did was smile cheekily. When isn't there a time when he's not hungry? He's not exactly being subtle about it. The mention of rabbits and foxes was giving it away. "Knock it off you two. Look, if we hold out long enough, we'll find something in the next town. Just hold on okay?" Kiba mentions, getting us to look at the white wolf. "It we don't die before we get out of here." Tsume adds, kicking aside a human skull. It tumbled against the dead bark of the trees. I'd be lying when I said that it didn't scare me a little. It scared Toboe the most and he let out a yelp of shock. He takes a step back to get away from it. He then steps by something that had me jump out of my skin.

A giant bug about the size of two hands that stacked on top of one another began to fly by us. Toboe yelped in surprise and whimpered as it flew by him a couple of times. It then made a direct u-turn back at the pup. "Aaaahh!" he screamed, holding his arms over his face. Tsume then comes to the rescue by grabbing the bug with a swift grab. Gotta say that he's a great catch. "There may be animals here but there are an abundance of bugs." Tsume says, holding the bug tight;y in his hand. It struggled to get loose from the iron grip as it screeched separately. "Thanks, Tsume." Toboe said, relieved. I watched at Tsume held it up close to his face to give it a closer inspection. I put my hand on my hip and also got a closer look at it. "Damn, I have never seen a bug like this." I say. "Yeah, this is the biggest bug I've ever seen." Tsume agreed. Just then, Tsume saunters over to the tan wolf.

"Here." Tsume bluntly says, holding the bug up to Hige's face. Hige jumped back and yelled in disgust. "Aren't you hungry? Chow down." Tsume said directly. I was even disgusted because I would rather starve than eat that. Frankly, I can't blame Hige for reacting the way he was. "What the hell makes you think I'd eat that?!" Hige argues, getting offended. "Wasn't it you that has the strongest gut?" I said, crossing my arms and smirking at him. Hige gave me a stumped gaze and didn't have anything to say at this. He knew I was right. "Eat it." Tsume bluntly said. "Hey, I'm not going to be your food taster! Why are you even barking out orders like you're the leader?! You're not our leader or anything! Right?!" Hige argued, looking at Kiba. All the white wolf did was give him a blank expression. Honestly, I don't think that this pack has a leader. But I wouldn't consider any of us to take the role of one.

"Ugh… Hey, I know! Let's give it to Cheza! I bet you're hungry by now." Hige said, grabbing the bug from Tsume and bounding over to Cheza. She took a step back and her eyes widened a bit. She's a damn flower so why the hell would she need to eat a giant bug like this? Kiba jumps in front of Cheza and knocks the bug out of Hige's hands with a good smack. The bug falls and splits in half so that it was covered in it's own green disgusting blood. "Cheza doesn't eat bugs!" Kiba growled, still standing in front of her. "Well, if not that then, what does she eat?" Hige asks, clearly not thinking straight about this. A simple smile appeared on Cheza's face.

"This one doesn't eat. Anything." she responds calmly. The only one who was thoroughly surprised was Hige, who looked at her with wide eyes. "Now that you mention it, I don't think I've seen her eat." Tsume said, making a good point. "Yeah. Not once did she ask for anything or make a comment about being hungry." I add, looking over to the grey wolf. "She drank some water that one time." Toboe said. All of this makes sense since she is a flower and flowers don't eat in anyway. "This one drinks and basks." Cheza explains. "Basks in what?" Kiba asks, giving a questioning look. Cheza looked up at the ceiling of the forest to answer his question. It was pretty obvious enough as to what she basks in.

"But not here…" she sadly said, the grin on her face fading away. I give her a glance of sympathy. She was upset that this forest was too thick. No sunlight could be seen anywhere in here. Seems like she was giving hints that she would need to bask in the sun or moon and drink water to keep herself going. We wouldn't have time to slack off at this point.

After a few minutes, we moved on in silence. She had left us in thought of finding her some water and moonlight soon. But we kept all of it to ourselves. I was in front of Tsume and I take a quick look behind me. He didn't look back at me though. A question begged within my head as we walked on. It was asking what made Tsume save me from that hunter before we came in here? I didn't think he'd actually be considerate enough to save my ass. I guess there is a good side to him but he refuses to show it.

Suddenly, a pained yelp roped me out of my thoughts, getting me to jump a bit. I turn to look at Toboe, who had stopped while holding his left ankle. "Toboe, you okay?" I asked, going over to him in a couple of bounds. "Yeah, yeah, I'm fine." he fibbed. I could tell by the look on his face that he was hurt. Therefore, lying didn't get him out of this situation. "I don't think so Toboe. We'd better have a look at your ankle." I said, getting him to sit down on an overgrown branch. Kiba kneeled down in front of the red wolf and got his boot off his ankle. It did look swollen a bit. "Let's have a look at it." Kiba stated, gently taking ahold of it. Tsume was farther away from us while Cheza sat about 10 yards from us.

"Well, it doesn't look sprained." Kiba mentioned, inspecting it. He turned it to the right a tad. Toboe reacted by grunting from the pain. Toboe grunted from the pain, squeezing onto my hand because he was holding it. I was on his left side to support him. "It doesn't surprise me that a kid like him can't handle a little forest. As I said before, don't bring kids into the forest." Hige says insensitively. That causes me to glance up at him with an annoyed expression. He grew up in the city so you can't blame him for being not used to forests like this. "Are you able to walk, Toboe?" I ask, giving the pup a caring look. "Yeah, I sure ca-" he replied confidently, trying to stand up only to get seated by the pain in his ankle. With this injury, he's not moving a step.

Then, Cheza comes over to us. "Cheza?" Kiba questioned, looking as she knelt down in front of Toboe's hurt ankle. She carefully lifts it and waves her other hand over it. A faded white glow started to form over the injured area. Toboe winces at this with an eye shut but Cheza gave him a reassuring smile. Then, he too smiled at her touch. "Wow! Thank you, Cheza!" he smiles gratefully. Hige kneels down next to Toboe with wide eyes because he was surprised that Cheza could heal wounds. "Does that feel good?" he inquired curiously. Toboe's eyes shifted to Hige with that same smile. "Real good! It's as if the pain's melting away!" the red wolf excitedly answered. Her touch does feel amazing I will give her that. I can't even describe how good it feels.

Cheza continued to pet him. It soon got to the point where he started to laugh because of how wonderful it felt. Hige sought interest into this. He first observed it with widened eyes. "Cheza? Can you pet me too?" he said, also wanting to feel Cheza's fantastical touch. He does get his wish and Cheza started to pet him too on his bushy sandy hair. He smiled and started to chuckle enthusiastically. The more she petted him, the more jumpy he was getting. "Hey Tsume! You gotta feel this! It's incredible!" Toboe called, turning his head to look at Tsume. I too look over to Tsume, who refused to feel Cheza's touch. Oh well. Maybe there will be a time he'll come through.

After a while, Toboe's ankle was healed and he slipped his boot on without an issue. We had gotten moving once again. The next 20 minutes were pretty silent. That was until Hige broke it. "This place isn't so bad once you look passed how dead it is. No humans to bother us either! We've got it all to ourselves!" Hige optimistically declared. "Yeah, and there's plenty of bugs here in case we get hungry!" Toboe agreed. I rolled my eyes at that. There's no way I'm feasting a damn bug. That's just gross. I don't know about the others though. "Hah! Not a chance pal!" Hige scoffs. "Then don't complain when we don't share them with you." Tsume chides bluntly. "I agree with Tsume. Don't start whining when we keep them to ourselves." I pipe in. We all stop once again as this argument kept proceeding.

"As I said before, who the hell died and made you leader?! And you're actually agreeing with him, Luna?!" Hige huffed, looking at us with an annoyed look on his face. "Ugh, would you get a damn grip already? And who are you to complain about the leader?" I growl, getting irritated with him. "Neither one of us is leader, Hige and Luna. We're just the kind of pack that doesn't have one." Kiba said, keeping his voice calm. I turn halfway to him so that I looked over my shoulder with a furrowed eyebrow. "What kind of pack are we then?" Tsume asked, also looking over his shoulder. I would assume we're all lone wolves in this case. Neither of us were born into this pack so we can't declare who the leader is here.

"Guys, c'mon. That doesn't matter right? Hey, I know! What do you guys wanna do when we finally get out of here?" Toboe questions optimistically. "What do you think?" Hige shrugs. "Eat all that I can." Tsume says. "Eat and sleep." Kiba adds. "Sleeping is where it's at." I answer, putting my hands in my pockets. Well, at least we all know where we stand after we make it out of here. Having a good sleep will be just the right ticket for us. Toboe's stomach then growls and he scratches his head in embarrassment. "I guess you're right." he said closing his eyes. "Psh, you moron's isn't it obvious?!" Hige inquired. "Don't start, Hige!" I piped in, pointing a finger at him. I didn't want another petty argument to proceed. It wasn't necessary at all.

Loud, ragged breathing echoed in my ears, sending a sense of dread in the pit of my stomach. "Cheza!" Kiba suddenly exclaimed. The rest of us looked at him and saw that Cheza has fallen in Kiba's arms as if she was exhausted. "Are you alright? Do you need us to stop?" I ask, checking on her. For some reason, I don't think that she's okay. I knelt down next to her and gave her a worried expression. "It is alright. This one is fine." she panted, giving Kiba and I assuring glances. My heart was telling me otherwise. She had her hand over Kiba's in a gentle manner. Even Kiba wasn't falling for this because of the look on his face.

"A bird!" Hige exclaimed abruptly, getting me to spring to my feet. "Where?!" Toboe asked, looking in the direction Hige was. His back was to us in a fighting stance. "It's the forest of death. You're hallucinating." Tsume assumed. "No! I'm positive that there's a bird nearby. Which means… we got food!" Hige laughed as he bolts after it. "Wha?! Hige! Get your ass back here!" I exclaim, turning in his direction. However, he was out of sight already. Tsume growled at this and shook his head. "What an idiot. Toboe, you stay here. Luna, let's go get him." Tsume suggested. "Right behind you." I nod, running alongside the grey wolf.

We sped off in the direction Hige ran down. He's definitely getting his ass whooped for taking off like that. He seriously needs to get his head out of the gutter and pay attention to what we're supposed to do. When we found him, he was standing aimlessly at the branches in an open space. His fists were slightly tightened. "Hige! What the hell were you thinking? That could've been dead leaves falling for all you know!" I scold, getting beside him. He gazed at me for a moment. "No! I'm sure there's something here!" Hige exclaimed, continuing to look around. Looking to Tsume, he wasn't buying it either. The both of us thought he was just hallucinating from the lack of water and food. However, we were wrong when something made a sound from behind us. The three of us turn around to see what it was.

In the branches, was nothing more than a simple owl. He was staring at us in a way that was sinister. Plus, there wasn't a scent on it. "See? I told you it was an owl! But, there's not enough meat to share." Hige said, starting to walk towards it. "Hige, stop." I warn. "Huh? Why?" he questioned. I furrowed my eyebrow at the mysterious owl. Something about it didn't sit right with me. "There's no scent on it." Tsume added, holding an arm out in front of Hige to stop him from walking. "Hmm?" Hige said, sniffing the air. "Guys, there's something off about that owl." I point out. They looked down at me for a moment. Then, the owl began to speak in a haunting voice. "An owl that looks suspicious. Wolves that look delicious. They all wandered in and got lost as one. Well done!" it said, turning its head completely to the side. Tsume growled at what the owl was saying about us.

"That damn thing's screwing with us!" he snarled, bouncing off the trees. He extends his right leg and kicks the owl hard. It took off in flight in our opposite direction. Tsume landed back in between Hige and I. We all looked up at the owl with our eyebrows furrowed. "Lost as one! Well done, well done!" it said as it flew away from us. "What the hell?" I said in confusion. What that owl said left me in a state of confusion because I don't know what he meant by that.

Then, the sound of Toboe's howl echoed through the forest, getting us to perk up. "That howl!" Hige exclaimed. "Toboe." Tsume responded. "Something could be happening. C'mon." I urge, starting to run ahead of them. Hige followed suit before Tsume did. Hearing Toboe's howl of distress couldn't be a good thing. Something must be happening with Cheza.

As we get there, Kiba was still holding Cheza in his arms and she was breathing in a labored way. That worried me. "What's wrong?" Tsume asked. "She started to…" Toboe stammered. We knelt down next to her to get a better look. To my horror, I saw veins growing on her neck. "What…? Guys… Is she withering?" I question, now feeling scared. I wasn't the only one scared by Cheza's health. It was slowly deteriorating by the minute. "She needs water! Even sunlight will help!" Kiba stated, looking at all of us. That I know however, this place is so dry that we wouldn't be able to find any. "But… there isn't any. This forest is too thick. And the ground is too dry." Tsume said, glancing up at the ceiling. I put my hand on Tsume's shoulder in determination now. Something in me had broke and it was telling me to help Cheza.

"We can't give up! There has to be water somewhere around here!" I say in a tone to show that I was serious about this. And with that, we put 10 minutes of constant walking behind us in search of water. However, it was the same endless loop. We stop at another tree. "Which way is it?" Toboe asked, seeming confused. Hige sniffs the air in hopes that it'd help. "Probably to the right?" he questioned, unsure of that. "Do you smell any water that way, Hige?" Kiba asked urgently. Hige looked at us with a sorrowful expression on his face. "Not a single drop." Hige said. "Yeah, standing in one spot isn't helping us in anyway." I add. We didn't seem to be getting anywhere by going in circles. Even our noses are useless.

"Here isn't helping! Here isn't helping!" that same voice from that owl echoed from behind us. It sent shivers up my spin when we heard it. The five of us turn around to face it. It was perched on a branch above us. It stared down at us with that same creepy glance that Tsume, Hige, and I saw earlier. Did it follow us? "What? An owl?" Kiba questioned. "Damn thing is back." Tsume growls. "That damn owl… it better leave if it knows what's good for it." I seeth, keeping my eyes locked on it. It didn't look threatened in the least bit. "It can't be helped if there's no water nor sunlight. It can't be helped if the flower is withering." the owl eerily says. At that, Kiba clenched his teeth and took a step forward out of anger. "What'd you say?!" he snarled, looking at the owl with a pissed off look on his face.

Then, Toboe comes up to him. "Wait a minute, if that owl lives in this forest, then do you guys think he might know where water is?" Toboe said, lifting his clenched fists a bit. That would be a good idea to ask because that strange owl must know where water is if he does live here. Kiba realized he was right and looked back up at the owl with determination. "Okay, tell us! Where is the closest place here that has water?" he asked, only to get a head tilt from the bird as if it wasn't understanding anything Kiba was saying. That wasn't benefiting us in anyway and we needed to get a damn response from this rat with wings.

"Stupid bird! Quit with the theatrics and spill it already!" Hige spat, losing his patience with this bird. We don't have time for these games. "If you live here, then please tell us where water is! She needs it now!" Kiba shouted, now determined to get answers from this damn bird. "Kiba… who're you talking to?" Cheza weakly asks him. Kiba looks back at her with a soft look and responds, "To an owl, Cheza." "An owl?" she repeats softly. I gaze from her and back to the owl. This incessant wait on an answer was getting annoying. "C'mon! Isn't there any water here? Any at all?" I pipe in, making one last attempt to get anything from this owl.

Instead of answering my question, the bird takes off flying above us. "C'mon!" I urge, taking off in a run after it. _We all run after it in our wolf forms. The ground felt so dry underneath my wolf paws._ " **Go astray! Go astray, my good wolves! Answers always lie in confusion!"** _the owl says as it flies away from us. "We can't lose him! He's our only lead!" Tsume growls. I keep my wolf eyes focused on where the owl was going and my wolf ears raised._ " **You'll never find what you're looking for! If a searcher were to find his objective, it would be a mere object."** _the bird prodded on. The bird had landed on another perch and just looked down at us._

We were in human form by a cave that was connected to the forest. We faced the bird once more and just stared up at it. " **The answer lies within the darkness. It lies in confined spaces. Only those who bravely enter will be rewarded."** it said, making my eyebrow raise for a moment. What was he talking about? "That a riddle?" Toboe wondered. "Bird brain wants us to go in the damn cave." Hige replied. "So does that mean we have to do it?" Toboe asked. "Probably. If it's the only way." I answer, looking behind me to see Kiba going towards the cave. Hige thought that this idea was idiotic and he runs up to Kiba and puts a hand on his shoulder.

"Wait, don't go in there! Are you really going to believe what some delusional owl tells you? You're out of your mind!" the tan wolf scolds, doing a poor job of convincing him to turn around. Kiba then jerks his eyes to the tan wolf in an irritated manner. "Fine, then! Tell us where we can find water!" Kiba snarls, getting Hige to back off a bit. It was silent for a moment before Kiba walks back in there. "At this point, we don't have a choice." Kiba says more calmly, walking in the cave. I sigh and began to walk in there after him. Tsume, Hige, and Toboe followed after me.

For about 10 minutes, all we did was go in circles. Even in the dim lighting of this cave, I could very well tell that this place looked the same to me. We get to a cut off where it had two paths. "Weren't we just here?" I wonder, trying to make sense of our direction. "You mean we're going in circles?" Toboe asks, looking off to the right. I look in both directions with a furrowed eyebrow. This is getting frustrating and I was getting antsy. "This place is like a maze. And to make matters worse, it looks the exact same." Tsume exasperated. "Yeah, which way do we go?" I agree with the grey wolf. Kiba made the suggestion that we go left again because that's where we went last time we came around this direction.

We started going in that direction. Not long after, Kiba ends up tripping over a small lip in the ground that he didn't see. "Damn it all!" he curses in a frustrating tone. I stand beside Tsume and look at Kiba. "Take it easy." Tsume said. The white wolf glares back at him with his teeth bared. The look on his face showed just how frustrated and irritated he was becoming by the second. "Kiba, aren't you tired? Do you want me to carry her?" Toboe offered kindly. It was nice he was wanting to help Kiba with carrying Cheza. I liked seeing it but Kiba wasn't having any of it. "Why?! Can you carry her?!" Kiba snarls, making the pup back up a bit. He looked upset at Kiba snapping at him. "Do you think you can carry her?! Answer me! Look, I'm fine! We don't have time to take a rest!" Kiba prodded on, baring his teeth at the pup. This was making me angry that he's taking his anger out on him.

"Kiba, knock it off! Okay, you need to seriously calm down!" I pipe in, taking a step forward. Kiba turned his aggression on me when I said that. "Luna, stay the hell out of this!" he snarls. Tsume takes a step forward to settle this score. "No, she's right Kiba. You do need to cool it. Your nose has screwed up horribly. It's the flowers that's causing it." Tsume said, keeping a calm attitude. Kiba turns completely around to face us. "My nose is fine!" Kiba replied angrily. Sounds like he was starting to provoke a fight. But Tsume and I weren't phased by his reaction. "Kiba, put Cheza down." Tsume calmly says. Kiba gasps at this and gets even more angry. "Do you still not trust her?!" Kiba growls coldly. "With how you've been acting, it's YOU we can't trust." Tsume points out, narrowing his gaze. Kiba was surprised at this and his eyes widened. I'd have to agree with that because he's behaving recklessly with this mission.

"As I was taught, to be a leader you need to remain calm and detached. And you're not showing any of that. You can't live being right all the damn time. Just take a breath and help someone for once. Don't be arrogant about this whole thing." I explain, putting my hands on my hips. Tsume was impressed with how I put that. It was as if I took the words straight from his mouth. "Stay out of my way!" Kiba growled, still baring his teeth. "Is that a threat?" Tsume growled. Kiba isn't being a good leader right now. That doesn't mean he can throw his fiery anger at anyone that comes across his path. That's too ridiculous.

Suddenly, our heated argument was interrupted by a loud screeching sound. That causes me to twist around towards the sound. It was a giant pill bug. It crawled up Hige's leg and it caused him to freak out. He throws a heavy kick to get it off him. It hits a rock face and curls up into a tiny ball. Then, a whole army of them crawl out from behind that rock face. "Agh! What the hell?!" I exclaim out of shock. We stand in a circle with our backs to one another. "There's a million of them!" Toboe cried out. One of the bugs hurls it's body at me with its teeth exposed. My quick reflexes helped me by using my forearm to make a direct hit. Another one comes after it, biting into my arm with a strong bite. "Agh!" I exclaim, feeling the pain from it's sharp teeth. I was able to get it off by swinging it and crushing it underneath my shoe with a hard stomp.

"I should've known that owl couldn't be trusted!" Tsume growls, doing his hardest to keep the bugs off of him. "We gotta get out of here!" Hige cried. "Where can we go?!" Toboe squeals, sounding high pitched. Another bug jumped on me and bit down on my other arm with that same iron grip bite. "Damn bug!" I shout, getting it off me. Those bites drew blood and it oozed out of my wounded arm. Cheza then let out a cry of pain from behind us. When I looked back, there was another bug hanging off of her back. Toboe came to her aid by pulling the bug off and using his boot to stomp on it. His strength killed the giant bug and green blood spewed out.

There seemed to be too many to fight off and I've already been bitten by two of them. I took a fighting stance with my fists clenched. Toboe was on my left and Hige was on my right. Kiba was on Toboe's left while Tsume joined us after putting Cheza in a safe spot. The bugs were in front of us. "Are wolves going to lose to bugs?" Tsume proudly says. "Not a chance." I smirk, ready to fight them. "Though I will admit we both like to be around flowers." Toboe adds. "Heh, nicely said runt." Hige agreed. "Here they come!" Kiba growls, ready to take on these things.

 _We all lunge at the bugs in our wolf forms. I bum rush through the horde with my wolf fangs bared and open my wolf jaws. I snarl intensely at the bugs and I dig my wolf fangs deep into their big bodies, getting their green blood to spew out. As I fought through them, I felt one dig it's teeth into my wolf back, my wolf neck, and my wolf legs. One by one, I turn my wolf head and use my wolf fangs to pull them off. Their bites had left blood on my wolf head, muzzle, sides, forelegs, and hind legs, and my wolf back._

 _Once we had killed a majority of them, I still stood in a fighting stance with my wolf head lowered, with my wolf fangs bared. My wolf tail was raised up all the way to show my dominance. Fighting those bugs made me feel tired and my wolf legs shook some. My golden wolf eyes glanced at the others. They had blood covering their wolf fur from the bites that was inflicted on them. Tsume had his wolf head lowered with his wolf fangs bared some, his golden green wolf eyes glowing with malice._

 _Hige had one wolf paw forward and his wolf head lowered and he panted heavily. Toboe had his wolf tongue hanging out a little, his wolf ears were lowered. Kiba had his wolf fangs bared all the way at the bugs and his wolf tail was half way raised. We wolves aren't going to be bested by a bunch of insects therefore we've handled our business._

Out of the corner of my eye, I see that Cheza was starting to run through them. "Cheza!" Kiba shouted, bolting after her. We followed suit in a full on sprint. Cheza was running through the bugs with some of them hanging off of her. "Cheza stop! What are you doing?!" I exclaim, running by Hige. Cheza did say something but due to the screeching of the living bugs, I couldn't hear what it was. She then takes a dive down a steep rock face. "CHEZA!" Kiba exclaimed, sliding down the rock face. The rest of us slide down the face and see Cheza lying lifelessly on the ground. Along with her, one of the bugs was crawling in her direction.

"Cheza!" Kiba cried, about to step in to protect her. "Wait a minute." Tsume says, putting a hand out in front of the white wolf to stop him. He was right. We watched intently as the bug's attention was drawn away from her. I looked up to see plants that seemed to be eating the bugs. "Cheza?" Kiba wondered, wanting her to be okay. Thankfully, she was. She still needed water and light to help her heal. "This one heard their hunger." Cheza told us. I rub the back of my neck and let out a chuckle. "Bug eating plants?" Tsume chuckles, clearly amused by this. "Damn, how convenient." I add, feeling relieved that those plants saved our asses. I felt so tired from the fight of these bugs and was glad to be rid of them.

"Hey guys! There's light! It's the way out!" Toboe cried, pointing to another direction. He was correct because I could see a form of light. I've never felt more relieved to be able to find the exit. The five of us follow the red wolf in hot pursuit. Once we step out, I feel the cool crisp air hit me in the face, getting me to suck in a long, deep breath. The air smelled so amazing and I smiled. "There's water! And moonlight to accompany it!" Toboe announced, standing underneath the moonlight. I have never been more excited to see water before in my life.

"What are we waiting for? Let's go for a dip!" I say happily. I run to the water and jump right in. Tsume, Toboe, and Hige joined me in a fit of laughter. The water felt amazing against my blood covered skin and I begin to swim. Toboe and Hige start to wrestle around in the water. I threw myself out of the water and onto the others in a playful manner. We all laughed and howled at our pup like behavior. "Hey, Toboe, get a drink!" Hige exclaimed, trying to put Toboe underwater. "I've had plenty!" Toboe exclaimed, fighting against it. "Hige, leave him be." Tsume said. "Yeah, come on now." I add, finding the need to settle down.

Just as we did so, something told us to stop all together. The four of us see Cheza in the water about knee deep. We watched as she basked in the moonlight and drank the water. I felt at peace in seeing her like this. Looking at Tsume, Hige, and Toboe, they too seemed at peace. The flower maiden is back to her normal self again and a smile appeared on my face. It couldn't be wiped away.

 _After a while, we all drank some water to rehydrate before settling down for the night. We all laid in our wolf form around her. I slept beside Tsume once again and let my wolf head rest on his wolf fore legs. Both of my wolf hind legs were laying on my left side and my wolf tail laid behind me. Cheza helped us to sleep by singing her lullaby again. Being by Tsume now… I didn't bother to move away in shock like I had done the other times. I was too tired to move. By tomorrow, I hope we can get back on track again._


	13. Chapter 13 A Sad Song

Everything seemed to be going okay, until the morning came that was. The sound of distinct growls not far from here woke all of us up. The five of us shot up out of our sleep fully awake. Tsume didn't bother to ask why I was sleeping directly beside him. It didn't matter right now and I wouldn't stop to ask.

"What was that…?" I say, feeling shivers run down my spine. How was he still out here? "That didn't sound good!" Toboe exclaimed, feeling unnerved by this. We all stood on our feet and began scanning around the area. Then, a strange scent hits my nose. It smelled like… other wolves. "There's other wolves here..." Kiba warned, catching the scent as well. We stayed close together as we looked around. One by one, the forms of strange wolves came out of the bushes. They were all grey wolves. And there was so many of them…

"The flower…" one of them says. Kiba grew defensive and put her behind him. Tsume stood in front of me in a protective manner. That was weird because I didn't he would do that. "It's really here." one of the wolves said, still seeing Cheza. "Yes, the seed of Paradise." another one said in a creepy way. Looking at that pack, there had to be at least 28 of them. They started to surround the 6 of us all while taking a good look at us. "Alright. You're in our turf. Hand over the flower. And also that pretty she wolf you got with you." one of the other wolves said, making me gasp at this. "Go to hell! Luna and Cheza stays with us! Why would we hand them off to you?" Kiba snarled. The wolves drop their human forms to reveal their wolf forms. Some of them looked identical in fur color. Each of them gave off an unsettling demeanor. It honestly gave me an uneasy feeling.

" _This is our territory. And the flower fell upon our pack. It may not belong to anybody but it belongs here."_ The alpha of the pack stated, lifting his wolf tail up a little to give a signal to his pack to attack us. This causes us to scatter in different directions. I take off in the east direction with three of the wolves from the other pack on my ass. I try to make a u-turn to get away from them but one of them blocked my path, ultimately stopping me in my tracks. The way they were looking at me gave me an unsettling feeling. "Thought you could get away from us, she wolf?" one said in a pervy way. "Get the hell away from me!" I snarl, baring my teeth. They only brushed off what I said and grabbed me by the arm.

"I don't think so, sweety. There's not enough females around here. And you'll suit us just fine." another said, licking his lips in a creepy way. "Secure her." the leader of this renegade ordered. They couldn't be planning on…? No… No, no, no! The wolf who had a grip on my arm quickly pins me to one of the trees with my arm tightly behind my back. "AGH!" I shout, feeling unable to get away from these wolves. "Get the hell off me!" I shout in an angry way. "Man, she's quite feisty. How about we each take turns with her? Don't worry, bitch. We promise to go easy with you." that wolf said in my ear. Shivers trailed down my spine at this. They were going to try to rape me… The wolves chuckle sinisterly as they prepared to do just that.

Suddenly, they were ripped away from me and the sound of snarling accompanies with their pained yelling. Looking behind me, Tsume was taking on the wolves in his wolf form. " _Stay the hell away from her!"_ Tsume snarled, standing in front of me with his wolf fangs bared and his wolf hackles raised. _I sit behind him with my left wolf foreleg raised partly because of those wolves forcefully putting it behind me. My wolf head was lowered and my wolf ears were lowered all the way. Looking at the other wolves, they were angry by this intervention. "You bastard! How dare you get in the way!" one said, baring his wolf fangs threateningly. Tsume put his right wolf forepaw forward and he opened his wolf jaws slightly. He was ready for a fight._

" _Don't. Touch. Her. Do it again and I'll f*cking kill you!" Tsume snarled deeply. I felt myself shaking at the fact that those wolves tried to rape me just now. I couldn't move… or speak. Never in my life have I felt fear in this way before. My heart was racing profusely and I couldn't breathe. "Is it because you want to have a turn with that high strung bitch? Well, you're just going to have to wait!" one of the other wolves snarled, making a jump at Tsume. Tsume began to fight that wolf. They were focused on Tsume and they left deep bite marks on his wolf body. Blood flung everywhere and most of it came from the wolves who had attacked me._

" _Luna! Run!" Tsume snarled, having one of the wolves pinned down by his wolf fangs. I didn't hesitate and I stood up on my wolf paws and began to run past the other wolves. I noticed that they were now killing each other. One made an attempt to jump at me, his wolf fangs bared. They had an insane look in their wolf eyes. It wasn't normal. I had no choice but to kill them. Despite having a hurt leg, I had to fight through the pain if I was to survive this sudden attack. I I bare my wolf fangs and use the strength in my wolf hind legs to leap in the air. I lock my wolf jaws tightly on the other wolf's jaws and I tasted his blood on my wolf tongue. I did hate having to kill my own kind however, I had no choice._

 _Kiba, Hige, Toboe, and Cheza were here somewhere. But I didn't see them. There was so much going on that I couldn't tell who was killing who. There was another wolf who sunk his wolf fangs into my back, getting me to fall over. I quickly twist my wolf head around with my wolf fangs bared all the way to bite down on the culprit taking me down. They howled in pain when I drove my long wolf fangs deep in the side of their neck, making blood fly out of the newly inflicted wound. That wolf fell dead instantly._

 _I then get to my wolf paws quickly and I continue to run to find the others. They were fighting those wolves off too. Kiba protected Cheza while he took the constant blows. Toboe was being protected by Hige. I looked over to Cheza after I find a new vantage point. She looked distraught by the fact so many wolves were dying before her eyes. Something about her being here was making these wolves lose their sanity by the second. We can't be pulled into their sanity with them…_

 _Just then, another wolf from that pack came out of nowhere and tackles me to the ground by latching his wolf fangs into my shoulders. I open my wolf jaws and try fighting back. We both fell from the platform and onto the ground below us. The impact hurt like hell and it caused me to yelp from the pain. I laid on my wolf side with my wolf legs spread out some. My wolf muzzle was pointing straight ahead. The wolf who ambushed me was lying just a few feet away from me. Dead. He was covered in his own blood and his wolf skull had been split open. My hearing was distorted from the impact but I could hear the sounds of the snarling dying down._

 _I couldn't feel my wolf legs… I probably knocked the wind out of them or something. That was a pretty nasty fall that I had. "Lu…na! Luna! Are you okay?!" Toboe's voice echoed in my wolf ears. My gold wolf eyes shift to where he was and he was coming my direction with cuts on him. His wolf ears were lowered in worry. "My legs… I can't feel them." I say, still unable to feel my wolf legs. Toboe looked horrified and tucked his wolf head underneath me to help me stand. He tried using his wolf muzzle to help me. "You have to stand! Please, stand!" he begged. My wolf eyes shut slowly because I felt like I was going to pass out._

 _I did black out but only for a couple of minutes. When I woke up, the feeling of Cheza's touch helped me wake up. The others were surrounding me in worry. Cheza healed my wolf legs and the wounds that those wolves inflicted on me. I hadn't noticed that we had moved in another area. "Look, she's waking up!" Hige inquired, raising his wolf head and ears. "Thank god…" Tsume said in a relieved tone. Toboe came around and helped me roll over to my wolf belly. I felt sore as hell and I groan, closing my wolf eyes for a moment. My wolf ears lay limply on my wolf head. "Luna, how're you feeling?" Kiba asked. "Like someone ran me over with a truck…" I groan, feeling heavy. Words can't express how tired I was feeling. All the muscles in my body ached._

" _You look like hell too." Hige inquired, getting me to glare at him. He backed down at the sight of my expression. I was in no mood to be teased. "You should rest. We still need to get moving." Kiba said, going over to Cheza. After that, the visions of almost being raped came flooding back. I stare blankly at my wolf paws with my wolf eyes opened all the way. Both of my wolf ears were lowered slightly. "Luna? Are you okay?" Toboe wondered, his wolf ears lowering at how I was acting. I didn't answer him. I was just too shaken up by what those wolves did to me. And I'm grateful that Tsume actually came to save me. I didn't think he would._

" _Not now, runt." Tsume stated, shushing the red wolf. Cheza noticed this as well and she gradually made her way over to me and knelt down in front of me. My wolf eyes panned up to meet her red ones. She could obviously feel the shock and pain that I was feeling. "_ This one can feel your great pain… It is alright now…" _she said comfortingly, running her hands through my black wolf fur, getting my wolf eyes to close. At her touch, relief washed over me. My wolf ears lowered all the way from how relaxed I was now feeling. Cheza made me feel safe and secure along with my pack being with me. Only her and Tsume know what had happened to me and I didn't want to tell Kiba, Hige, and Toboe about almost raped by those wolves._

 _After a while, the 6 of us had found a good place to stop for right now. There was a rock that looked like a seat that humans would sit in. And on top of that chair like rock was a flat surface and a ledge that could hold at least one of us. It was a comfortable spot for us to hang for the time being. Tsume laid on the flat surface on top of the rock chair with his wolf body twisted partly to face us, his wolf forelegs crossed. Hige was on the other side with his wolf head laying on Toboe's back, his eyes shut. Toboe laid by Cheza with his wolf head in her lap. Kiba was sitting by Cheza on the ground with his wolf tail laying behind him. And I was also sitting on the ground with my wolf head twisted to face her with my wolf ears raised._

 _I felt complete relief by not only being with the flower maiden, but I felt reassurance by being with my pack. Ever since I lost my other pack, Never have I ever believed that I'd ever find a pack again. Even if it was a dysfunctional one. It felt great to me. My wolf eyes pan to Tsume, who looked down at me. I couldn't get those times he actually went out of his way to protect me those few times. It couldn't have been repaying the favor since I did save him from that damn robot we had encountered a while back. No… was it something else that was making him do that? There's no way that he could be falling for me. Was he…?_


	14. Chapter 14 Vanishing Point

It had become noon by the time we had made it into another small town. It was very warm to say the least. This town was very sandy and quite calming. I couldn't help but grin lightly at the quaint feel of it here. As we got closer into the town, a strange yet exciting feeling rushed through me in a way that I found it hard to contain. And I wasn't the only one to feel it. The others were just as happy and giddy as me. Something was going to happen tonight. I can sense it and it felt great. We were all smiles as we moved casually through this quaint town.

"Man, what a seedy town." Hige lightly said, breaking the silence between us. "This is my kind of place." Tsume said. As I walked beside him, I turn to look up at him with a grin. "I can totally see you in a place like this." I said lightly. The grey wolf looked down at me with a short smile. He didn't take offense to my comment and that's a surprise. "Smell the danger in the air? My blood's on fire!" Tsume exclaims, clearly feeling the excitement as well. "I feel it. I'm ready to kick some ass." I say, feeling my heart escalate in beats. I didn't know what was causing all of us to feel excited. Was it because of the moon is going to be full tonight?

"Me too! I feel it too!" Toboe happily shouts, rolling up his right sleeve to flex the non-existent muscle that he had. Hige rushes over the red wolf and quickly holds the pup in a tight headlock, catching the pup off guard. He struggled to get out of Hige's tight grip. "Ha! That's tough talk for someone who's a wuss all the time! That can't be the reason that you're fired up is it runt?! After all tonight's…" Hige laughs at Toboe's reaction towards the pup. All of us were smiling at this. "It's a full moon tonight." Kiba gleefully roped the rest of that statement. Toboe manages to wedge himself out of Hige's grip and leans against a wall.

"I know it's different for us because we get our strength from the full moon. But what about Cheza? She's glowing too!" Toboe said. We all look at the flower maiden with our smiles plastered on our faces. Tonight would be different because Cheza's with us. I could feel it within me. "Yeah. From what I heard a long time ago, that the lunar flowers bloom once a year under a full moon." I say, remembering what I heard from my grandparents when I was a pup. Even now, I shouldn't believe in that anymore but… it's crept back into my mind because of tonight. "So tonight she'll…" Hige whispered, looking at Cheza. "It's a possibility, Hige." Kiba says, keeping his voice low. Toboe then comes up to where we were after recovering.

"What's going to happen to her?" he wondered. I could feel that excitement eating away at me and it felt so good. "Is she going to bloom or something?" Hige says, unable to contain the excitement as well. She then stops in her tracks and turns to look at us in a ecstatic twirl. "This one is excited!" she exclaimed, feeling it also. Words cannot express as to how ecstatic I was feeling.

Not a few hours later, nightfall was finally upon us. I had stayed patient as dusk was reaching us. My heart was beating out of my chest and my hands were shaking from excitement. Cheza dipped her feet into the pond underneath the full moon, getting basked into it. "So this is it?" Tsume breathes. "Man, I feel like I can do anything right now!" Hige exclaimed, with a hint of happy in the mix. "We've all seen a full moon before. But since Cheza's here, it's different isn't it?" Toboe asks, putting his hands behind his head. "I can't contain this excitement anymore!" I shout, wanting to howl badly. Tsume too wanted to do it. We all wanted to howl to the moon like there's no tomorrow.

 _Before we all knew it, we wolves began to run around the flower maiden as she spun in a circle. My enthusiasm had taken over me and my wolf paws had minds of their own. My black wolf fur and wolf tail flew behind me as I ran. Soon enough, I stop in my tracks. "Aarroooo!" I howl, lifting my wolf muzzle all the way up. The others stopped to join me as well. All of our wolf howls were mixed in and we harmonized underneath the bright, silver moon._

 _But it wasn't over yet. The five of us were now facing Cheza. Our wolf howls had ceased and we all looked directly at the moon. We were still as statues. My wolf eyes were open all the way and my wolf ears lay partly back. I sat in between Kiba and Tsume. We kept our wolf eyes directly on the moon as Cheza's eyes began to reflect the moonlight. A pure wind blew passed my wolf fur. We turn our wolf bodies away from her and my wolf eyes lock onto the now blooming Lunar Flowers that were appearing right before our eyes. My wolf ears were raised as I hear these pretty flowers begin to bloom. Next thing I know, that these flowers had formed into a trail, leading to a white light._

All of us stand in human form in complete awe. This… was the path to Paradise… "No way… it's…" I stutter, in total disbelief that it's real. All this time, I thought it was a hoax. But,,, there it is. "It's the path to Paradise." Hige breathes. "Is it really?" Tsume asks, in disbelief also "Amazing! It's amazing!" Toboe happily says. We were going to Paradise.

 _We all run softly down the trail of Lunar flowers. It was calling us and we must follow it. My wolf paws touched the soft petals of the Lunar Flower as it's shiny petals flew around us, touching our wolf fur as they flew by us. I was in between Hige and Tsume, keeping my wolf ears lowered. We were going to Paradise after all… Or so I thought._

A sudden form of dread filled through me. It forced me to stop running. The trail had seemed to cease to exist at this point and we were now in a deserted heath under a dark maroon sky. The sound of a noble ship filled our ears, breaking the silence around us. It was accompanied by a strange, purple ship, which landed in front of us. Then, the door to the ship opened. Who was inside it made us take a step back in surprise. There was a noble in the ship. He had his hair pushed back and an eyepatch over his left eye. That stench most nobles gave off was coming off of him and I backed up a little bit by Tsume.

" **The wolves. It's been a long time.** " he spoke in a deep, gravely voice. His words made me gasp and my eyes widened. How does he know we're wolves? "That stench! He's a noble!" Tsume seethed. The noble began to walk off of the platform slowly, not taking his eyes off us. " **Was your little dream pleasant? Where you and your pathetic pack was going to Paradise?"** the noble says, pissing Kiba off. "What?!" the white wolf growled. " **The time has not come for that yet. Return to me… Cheza."** the noble says, looking towards Cheza. My protective instincts kicked in and I stand in front of Cheza in a protective stance. "She's not going anywhere. She belongs with us!" I growl, my eyebrows narrowing and my fists clenched. The noble was taken aback by my actions but his reaction soon died away.

"GET OUT OF OUR WAY!" Kiba shouts, charging at the noble in his wolf form. When he tried to jump at the noble, his wolf body hit an invisible forcefield. It caused him to do a backflip. He landed on the ground on his wolf paws with his wolf head lowered and his wolf tail raised. Then that noble started to fire lasers at us. Those lasers struck the ground and it cause the ground to split into a million pieces.

 _I begin to dodge the lasers in my wolf form and took on sprinting, barely feeling the dry ground underneath my wolf paws. As I ran, that damn noble kept firing lasers at us. Out of the corner of my left wolf eye, I see Toboe fly through the air in his wolf form. Once he landed on the ground with a loud thud, Hige followed to his aid, only to get struck himself. "HIGE! TOBOE!" I shout, seeing them get struck._

 **Ah… the blood of the wolves. How magnificent."** _the noble chuckles sinisterly. My blood began to boil and I bare my wolf fangs all the way and snarl intensely. "Don't touch my friends, bastard!" I growl, turning my wolf head with my wolf ears raised. He had no right to hurt my friends. I charge at the noble, letting my wolf paws carry me in that direction. Before I could reach him, an oncoming laser strikes me because of a wrong move I made. The pain that this laser beam inflicted on me paralyzed me. I couldn't move my wolf body at all once I landed on the ground with a hard thud, making the pain even worse. I laid on my left side with my wolf head stretched out to where my wolf muzzle pointed forward. All of my wolf legs was partially spread out. My wolf tail was close to me._

 _Blood spilled out of my wolf jaws and it stained my wolf fur. Words cannot express as to how much the pain took over me. My wolf legs felt so… heavy and I couldn't breathe. After a bit, I hear another body hit the ground. My wolf eyes force open and I see that it's Tsume… He laid not too far from me. His own blood stained his smokey grey wolf fur. Tsume sees where I am and he started forcing his way over to me. He collapsed about a foot from me from how hurt he was. He was in just as much pain as I was._

 _My yellow wolf eyes slowly shut on their own. I just wanted to sleep… My wolf body was so tired… After a minute, I felt the soft stroke on my wolf fur by Cheza's hand. When I opened my wolf eyes to look at her, she was knelt next to me and she pet me gently on my wolf neck and side. "Cheza…" I groan, my voice breaking. "_ It is alright, Luna… This one will protect you." _Cheza assured me. My wolf eyes close as I feel her healing touch rush through me. As we lie there, questions ran through my mind._

 _What could the noble want with Cheza? What could a human hope to accomplish by using her to get to Paradise? Not that we were supposed to care… Besides… we couldn't do anything about it. Cheza was… gone._


	15. Chapter 15 DreamsofthePast:BlackSheWolf

_As I lay there unconscious, I see myself back in my old pack. Life before all of this was good. I'd play with my brother and sister, Aaron and Samara. They were the oldest of my mother's litter. I was the youngest. I loved my pack dearly. In my heart, they all knew I'd turn out to be like my father, who's name was Ryan. I felt that I would one day become alpha of our pack. Mother would teach us how to hunt almost every day. We'd hear stories about Paradise from our grandparents. However, I learned that not all stories have a happy ending…_

 _The day my pack was killed right before me would forever scar me. I was asleep in our family den when I hear the sounds of lasers being fired from above. When I opened my wolf eyes, nothing but fire and falling bodies was all I saw. "Luna!" my father's voice called. I run out of the den and get a full view of what was happening. "Dad?! Where are you?!" I howl, running and bounding through the fire quickly, my wolf paws touching the fire. When I saw him, he was laying on the ground; covered in blood. He was dying… "Luna… run… Please… run…" Dad wheezed, taking his last breath. The color in his wolf eyes faded to a clouded color._

 _I did what he said and bolted out of there, dodging the bullets as best as I could. Unfortunately, two bullets struck me. They cut through my wolf ears, forever leaving nicks on each ear. I didn't have time to search for any survivors. It was selfish of me but I had to listen to my father. It hurt like hell to leave my pack in this condition but I didn't want to end up like the rest of them. When I get out of my now burned down territory, I stood upon one of the ledges. There were burn marks and blood on wolf cheeks from me getting shot on my wolf ears. My wolf eyes couldn't look away from the horrendous scene which lay in front of me._

" _Aaarrooo!" I howl, lifting my wolf head in the air. The sound of my howl was one of a wolf that would mourn a loved one after they have died. This was for my now fallen pack. After that, I turned around and began to run. Just as my father told me to do just before those soldiers took his life. I was the only wolf who survived…_

"Heh. Sorry. Just a force of habit. I'm Hige if you wanna know." he said, using his thumbs to point to himself. "I'm Luna." I introduce in a friendly manner. He smiles at me and continued to scratch the back of his head. "Say, you want to get something to eat? You do look hungry." he offered nicely. I just smile at him as I walk up to him. "As long as you don't try anything, I think we'll be alright." I say, making sure that he don't do nothing that's going to set me off.

"Cheza? Who's that?" I whisper, still looking off to the doorway. "She's the flower maiden created from the Lunar Flowers. The nobles created her from lost alchemy and boom, she's here." Hige vaguely explains to me in a soft toned voice. That makes as much sense as any and I guess I'll find out more about her soon enough. In looking around the corner of this room, I could see that the humans were now gone.

"Okay. They're gone." I tell him, walking out of the room and see that they are in fact not in the room. We re-approach the cage with the white wolf in it to see him with his wolf eyes closed. I kneel down so that I was sitting on my knees with my hands resting on them and my ponytail resting over my right shoulder. I couldn't take my eyes off of him for some reason. "Damn, you really screwed up." Hige started but got no reaction. I scoffed at this and rolled my eyes. "You must've been really blind sided to get yourself caught like this. Can't say it's the first time I've seen our kind get caught like this." I say to him in a stern tone. The white wolf opened his wolf eye to look at us. They were golden yellow like mine when I'm in my wolf form.

"I can leave when I feel like it." the white wolf says firmly. He had an aloof yet slightly deep toned voice. "Really? Then why are you in there?" Hige wondered, his head resting on his left hand in a carefree way. "I just... needed somewhere to rest is all." the white wolf said in a tired tone. That made me grin; not in a caring way but in a joking kind of way because I don't see how laying in a cage laying in a pool of one's own blood is considering finding a place to rest.

"I'm Hige. It's nice to meet you. And this here's Luna." Hige responded in a chuckle, introducing the two of us. The white wolf didn't seem amused by how Hige said that and I honestly don't blame him because I'm not amused either. "So why are you two here?" the white wolf asked, still looking up at us. I lean up and shrug my shoulders.

"Eh, no reason really. It seemed like something interesting was going to happen and we just followed our noses." Hige answered in a sluggish way. "May I remind you that I just met you and I chose to come with you to see what that gunshot was connected too." I say, reminding him as I looked at him. Hige looked back at me and grinned. He still seemed to be flirting with me because of how he's grinning at me and I'm liable to kick his ass for it.

"Those forms... they're not your true ones. Why hide yourselves?" the white wolf stated, seeing that Hige and I are wolves as well. "So we don't end up like you. I only do it to keep myself protected from the humans here. Mostly in any city I've been through." I answer straightforwardly. Part of that is true because I have walked into cities in my human form which I had learned to use a couple of months ago actually. This white wolf doesn't seem to get the whole, 'Stay in your human disguise so that the humans won't think anything of what we are.' kind of thing. "It's what we do to protect ourselves. Keep looking like that and you'll wind up back here in no time." Hige added, seeming to agree with me. The white wolf begun to growl at us lowly, partially baring his wolf fangs at us.

"You two are living lies... you two want to live a miserable death in this city?" he retorted in an irritated tone. His tone and growling didn't phase me in the least bit. "Hey, it's what we do to survive. You're really asking for trouble if you think staying in your wolf form all the time will protect you." I spat, narrowing my green eyes at him. I hold my ground at what this white wolf was getting from. "Have you two given up your pride as wolves?!" the white wolf snarls, jumping up with his wolf fangs bared in a snarl. Hige was surprised at what he said but soon softens up.

"Man, you are strange. But having pride doesn't count too much if you're dead. You know?" he said in a cool tone, leaving the white wolf dumbfounded. Then, a loud siren blared above us, getting me to look up at the ceiling. "I think that's our cue to get the hell out of here." I say, feeling the urge to leave this place, "Unless you want to let your wolf pride dig it's heels into you completely, how about you let yourself blend in with the humans for a change? It's the only way you can survive in this messed up world." Both Hige and the white wolf look at me with widened eyes. "You're a lot smarter than I thought for a female." Hige said with a warm smile. I glare at him for a moment before standing back up. "Don't test me. We need to leave here before the humans show up." I answer, getting him to back off a little bit.

When I turned down another alleyway to find a place to rest for a little bit, I notice something. I see the form of… another wolf. It was a smaller wolf from what I can see. He was eating something. I look at him with a raised eyebrow. "Um, hello?" I call, getting his attention. The red wolf quickly turned his wolf head to look at me and his wolf ears raised some. "You're… another one? Like me?" he said in a timid tone of voice. He turned to his human form and I took notice of what he looked like. He has a rather effeminate face, neck-length, reddish-brown hair parted on the side. His eyes are a light, golden brown. He wears a faded, red zipper shirt with sleeves rolled up to his elbows, olive-green cargo pants and dark green, military boots. His skin was fair as well. And he had four bracelets on his right wrist.

"Yeah. I'm a wolf too." I answer calmly while giving a smile to the young wolf. "I'm Toboe!" he happily said, extending his hand for a handshake which I happily take. "What're you doing here rummaging through human filth? Don't you think that's a little… weird for a wolf to be doing?" I question, looking at the garbage behind him. "Uh well, that's how I eat. There's nothing much here and it's all I've got." he answers in a timid manner. "Oh I see. Well, never mind that. I'm Luna. I didn't expect to see a young wolf such as yourself here." I said, being honest with him. "You're the first wolf I've ever seen! It's good to know that I'm not the only one here to exist." Toboe said in a cute way. I chuckle at his enthusiasm. "You look hungry too. I can find us something." he offered. Oh god not this crap again. But I decided to roll with it and give in. "Okay. Sounds fair. It will look weird for me considering I never ate anything but whatever meat I can find." I say, remembering on that food Hige offered to Kiba and I. I chose not to eat it and truthfully, I was getting hungry at this time. Toboe seemed happy and he urged me to follow him.

That is until we come around another corner and the first thing we see is… another wolf.

My eyes widen at this wolf, who was in his human form. He is tall and relatively muscular, with cropped silver hair that he ties back in a small ponytail. His skin was olive colored. He had one stud earring in his right ear and two hoops in the left, one larger than the other. He wears tight, black leather that exposes his belly, the sleeves partially ripped off. He is taller than me… yet he looked around to be the same age as me. Toboe came up next to me and gasps at seeing this other wolf. He just stares down at us and didn't seem phased at our reactions of seeing how tall he was compared to us. "You're… another one. Just like us." Toboe stated, cowering down a bit. "I thought he was the only other wolf here besides me." I add, not taking my eyes off this wolf.

"Get out of the way." the grey wolf snarled, looking down at us with a cold expression. Before long, a different scent filled this area. It caused me to turn around to look behind me and I froze in my place and the grey wolf looked up at what I was looking at. There was that blueish black hunting dog that I saw before I went into this domed, human filth of a city. How did this mutt find us? I glared down at the dog, who only stared back at us with a cold stare from her blue eyes. Toboe saw it too and he too froze in his place. Soon enough, this dog's master came around the corner with an empty bottle in his right hand. From the smell of it, he had a vile scent on him. And he was staggering around as if he couldn't see straight.

"Hmm…? You find something?" he said, looking down at her before looking at us with a drunken gaze. The grey wolf used his charisma to leap out of the alleyway that we were in. He doesn't even care we're probably going to meet our potential death to this hunter. In a protective manner, I put Toboe behind me with my right arm extended. I gritted my teeth some as I glared at the dog and her human. "Boy… Girl… No… you two aren't a boy and a girl…" the old human said, stammering towards us with his gun in his hands, cocking it back so it would be ready to fire. As I looked at him, I took notice of how he was trying to focus his eyes. And before long, they widened in realization and he suddenly held his rifle up at us. My heart jumped out of my chest when I knew that he knew that Toboe and I are wolves.

"Shit…" I seethed under my breath, feeling myself shake under my pale skin. The human was about to fire his gun but he was suddenly stopped by that grey wolf, who just happened to drop back in this alley at the most opportune time. He landed on the old human's hands, making his gun fly out of his hands and it clattered on the ground. The blue black hunting dog lowered down and used it's teeth to snap at the grey wolf's leg. "Jump! Hurry up!" he shouted, not taking his eyes off the old human. Without a second thought, I use my charisma to jump up swiftly and I bounce off the sides of the walls with Toboe and the grey wolf behind me.

After that ordeal, we had made it to another part of town. The grey wolf was walking in front of Toboe and I with his back turned to us. He acted as if he didn't have any recollection of saving our asses just now from that hunter and his dog. I was in the back while Toboe walked in between us. "Who the heck was that? And what's up with his dog?" Toboe asked, looking behind us with a concerned expression on his face. "Don't know. Don't care." the grey wolf vaguely stated. I roll my eyes at his conceited attitude towards us. "You're Tsume right? Man, it's quite something! She's the only other wolf I've seen here!" Toboe enthusiastically said, looking back at the grey wolf, Tsume. He turned to look back at me for a moment before looking back straight ahead as if he approved of nothing of me. "I've heard about you from the crows though. They said you befriend humans and run wild with them!" Toboe continued on. I look off to the side as he said that. 

"Well, you heard wrong. I don't have friends." Tsume stated distantly. I glance back at him. "Well, that's sad for you I must say." I say, raising an eyebrow. Tsume glanced back at me with a look of disgust on his face. He was already starting to piss me off and I had barely known the guy. "Well, I'm Toboe! She's Luna!" Toboe introduced, using his right thumb to point at me. I didn't want to be introduced because I hardly believe that this arrogant wolf isn't going to want anything to do with either of us. "Thanks for saving our asses back there." I say to Tsume, seeing that was the right thing to do. But he didn't see any need to be nice about it. "Just get lost. Both of you." Tsume growled, turning around a bit to face us with a stoic yet slightly angered expression. Toboe looked up at him with a look of confusion. "I'm getting pissed off. And that only happens when I'm around idiots." Tsume said in a vague voice. I automatically turn away from him with a look of hate because he called Toboe and I idiots. "But… can we come with you?" Toboe said in a hurt tone. "No. You both can't." Tsume growled, walking away from us. I wanted nothing more to do with this asshole of a wolf. Therefore, I jumped off the walkway above the ledge.

y eyes trail every inch of this place. It wasn't until my muscles freeze at what my eyes laid upon. I hear the shocked and quiet gasp of Kiba. There in front of us… was the flower maiden. She was looking down with her eyes shut and her feet were in the water. She had pink hair and red eyes.

She opened her eyes and looked up at us with a kind and gentle gesture. We all gasped in astonishment at her. "No way…! It's… It's…" I stammer, unable to find the words as they were stuck in my throat. "My heart just skipped a beat!" Toboe exclaimed in surprise, putting his fists up to his chest. "Who is that?" Tsume questioned, seeming skeptical of the flower maiden. I couldn't take my eyes off of the flower maiden, who had gotten up from the rock she was sitting on. Kiba started to saunter his way towards her. The flower maiden turned to face us and held her arms open a little to greet Kiba, who was now in his wolf form. He blended right in due to his wolf fur being pure white. When he was in front of her, she smiled and started to run her fingers through his wolf fur, getting his wolf ears to lower in tranquility. He seemed to be at peace. She then wrapped her arms around his wolf neck as she hugged him gently.

"Aw… I wanna be held like that." Toboe said breathlessly. "Is that her…?" I ask, feeling my heart pound heavily in my chest. Seeing the flower maiden before my very eyes gave me this new feeling of warmth and redemption. It felt amazing. "Yeah… That's the flower maiden." Hige answered in a bubbly tone. He was just as excited as I was in seeing the flower maiden. The only one who wasn't as enthused about seeing her was Tsume and I don't understand why because was feeling what we were feeling a little while ago. The flower maiden and Kiba were now walking out of the sparkling lake in his human form, hand in hand. She looks at all of us with a warm short smile. She then looks at me. I stood in wolf form with my wolf head raised all the way with my wolf ears raised in interest. "It's wonderful to meet you… Luna." she spoke in the most soft spoken yet sweet toned voice ever. My wolf eyes widen and my wolf jaws dropped a little. She then proceeds to pet me gently. At her very touch, it was as if all the burden's and stress that was put on my shoulders was suddenly lifted. I can't explain just how… fantastical her touch felt against my black wolf fur. My wolf ears lowered slightly and I closed my wolf eyes just like Kiba did. Even my wolf tail was wagging some because of this. I couldn't get enough of this.


	16. Chapter 16 Don't Make Me Blue

_It must've been forever before I finally woke up. My wolf eyes open and I found that all of my limbs in my wolf body were sore as hell. The feeling of the air was now hot, making it harder for me to wake up. When I tried to sit up, it was agony. I felt cuts on my wolf paw pads and when I forced myself onto them, it was like I was walking on a pit of fire. All of the wounds on my wolf body seemed to heal rather quickly because of Cheza healing us. When I looked up at the moon, I see that it's a dark shade of red. I don't pay much attention to the color of the moon but I figured that that wasn't a good sign._

 _I begin to limp my way towards the east. Every step was agony and I had to grit my wolf fangs together in order not to shout. The others had also recovered partially and they were up as well. As we move out in the east, not a single word was spoken. What was there to talk about? Nothing really? We wolves felt utter defeat because a damn noble had taken Cheza from us. I seemed to find a reason to go to Paradise. Now that that reason is gone, what's the point in going now?_

We make it to an old warehouse about 15 miles North because we couldn't spend the night in this dead heath. I lay down underneath Tsume because he was on a piece of debris. The night passed us by and we started to wake up. I lift myself up and found how sore I was from that noble's attack. Every part of my body hurt like hell. "You up and moving already?" Hige asked, noticing that Kiba was finally awake. The white wolf didn't respond to Hige and he looked away from him. He was probably felt defeated about losing Cheza like that. I look down at my feet because I had my legs pulled up to my chest. "C'mon guys! I know we've been through a ton but why all the moping?" Hige rants, trying tastelessly to lighten things up. "Well, I couldn't sleep." Toboe replies, looking at Hige. "Well, neither could I!" the dun wolf announces. "You slept like someone shot you with a tranquilizer gun." I replied. He was dead asleep unlike the rest of us. The soreness in my body kept me from sleeping.

"Look, I'm just as shocked and frustrated like the rest of you! But none of that will help us what the hell to do now! Are we going to live in a stoop for the rest of our lives?! Someone say something damnit! Kiba, you haven't said a thing to any of us since it all happened!" Hige ranted, his anger rising. Sounds to me like he was getting impatient with us getting on the move. "Drop it." Tsume growls. "Leave him be. He was hurt worse than all of us." Toboe agrees. "Yeah, Hige. You need to shut up right now. He's still distraught about Cheza." I say, looking at the dun wolf. "It's not that." Kiba said calmly yet I could read that there was a hint of anger in his voice. "It's just… I'm really pissed off." he said, his tone angered. I think he just needs time to think. I can't blame him. We all need to take a breather for right now.

It wasn't until the sound of rapid, oncoming footsteps were heading our way. It was accompanied by the sound of shouting and yelling. "Down there! Get her! Come back damn it!" somebody yells. We all look up at the entrance from where the sound was coming from. Then, the form of that dark blue wolfdog slides in the room that we were in, making dust fly up into a cloud. We gasp at the sight of this now collarless wolfdog. She stares at us for a moment. I blink once and I see that she has taken upon a human form like a wolf would.

She was tan skinned with black hair that was similar to Hige's. She still had her blue eyes. Her clothing consisted of a long trench coat with a red scarf and thigh high boots. She stood in a fighting position. Hige automatically started drooling over her. All I did was roll my eyes because that's how he was with me. After her, four humans came in a few seconds after her. Their posture gave me an uneasy feeling but I kept it to myself. "She's got friends." the leader of the four chuckled. Hige quickly jumps to her aid and stands in front of her with his fists on his hips. "Yeah, so what's it to you?" Hige spats. The humans weren't phased by Hige's dominance.

"Hand over the girl." they demand. I growl and didn't like how they were treating her. Even if I didn't like her in the past, since she's half wolf, it couldn't hurt to come to her defense. "And what if we don't? From how she's running from you three, she wants nothing to do with you." I say, taking charge this time. The leader of this human brigade gave his friends the signal to pursue an attack on us. "You five aren't from around here are you?" the leader persists. "So what?" Hige growls. I stood in a fighting stance and clenched my fists. The humans started to surround us while carrying various weapons.

"There's a large demand on young bodies in this town. We get paid top dollar for healthy organs." another answered with a grin. One of those humans approach me. "We could use a strong, dominant thing like you working for us. What do you say, sweetheart?" the third human said. I clenched my fist and released a hard punch on the humans jaw, making him fly onto the ground. Tsume saw the need to defend me like he did before but with how I punched this human; I needed no defending.

That started a fight between us wolves and these ignorant humans. The second human swung his crow bar at us but we were able to dodge his attack. Tsume cracks his neck and says, "You don't expect us to give up our bodies do you?" The same humans tried hitting him again but Tsume twisted around and kicked the human aside with a roundhouse kick. Hige then uses his body force to knock the humans on the ground. Kiba stretched out his foot and tripped the human that made a move on me. Also the one that I punched. I end up using my fist to throw another sucker punch on the fourth human to knock him to the ground.

 _I then stand on top of that human in my wolf form along with the others. Both of my wolf forepaws held the human down with force. I had my wolf head lowered and my wolf fangs bared at the human, who was looking up at me with a look of sheer terror. "_ _ **You'll think twice before messing with us wolves**_ _." I snarl at the human. Out of the corner of my golden wolf eyes, I see that Tsume, Hige, and Kiba were holding the other three humans down with their wolf forepaws holding them down with all of their strength. It gave me joy to see the terror on these humans faces. They're seeing wolves before their very eyes. By their reactions, they've never seen wolves before. This guy was so tough before he had a black wolf standing on top of him, making him piss himself._

The humans then said something that I couldn't make out. After that, we all bolt out of there to avoid more confrontation with these humans. We stop on the other side of town on a pile of debris that resembled a junkyard. I sit down on Tsume's right side with my hands laying at my sides so that my palms were flat on the rusted surface. "Man! I don't think I've ever seen anybody give anyone that hard of a punch before! You badass Luna!" Hige praised, clearly impressed with my attack on that human. "It felt good also." I said with a smile. "Yeah, did you see the scared look on their faces back there?" Tsume laughed, agreeing with us. "Yeah, that felt terrific!" Toboe exclaims happily. Needless to say, we felt that thrill of scaring the hell out of those humans.

Kiba sits down with his right hand on his shoulder. He was still sore from the attack last night. "Kiba, you okay?" Toboe asked. "Yeah." Kiba quickly answered. He didn't need to push himself too much because of the injuries that was inflicted on him. "Hey, are you okay?" Hige asks, directing the question at the wolfdog. "Yeah. Thanks for the save back there." she answered, her voice soft. "We didn't do it for you. Those morons just happened to catch us in a bad time." Tsume spat, clearly not thrilled to see her. Needless to say, I don't think any of us were because we knew what she did in the past when she was with that human. "She was only thanking us. Why do you have to so harsh? It's not like we run into girls everyday. Aside from Luna of course." Hige retorts before looking back at the wolfdog. "I'm Hige by the way." Hige introduced. I roll my eyes at what he said because I'm the only other she-wolf that he's run into.

"My name is… is Blue." she said, looking bashful. She turns her attention towards us."It's been a while. Huh?" she asked. The last time we saw each other was back in Freeze City. "Wait, you guys know each other?!" Hige said, taken aback. "It's a long story. Don't ask." I said in a deadpanned tone. My eyebrows narrow because I wasn't exactly thrilled to see this wolfdog. Since she spent a majority of the time hunting down our kind, it's not easily forgivable. "You did some pretty nasty things to us back in the city." Tsume growled, remembering what her and that human did. Everyone here except for Hige had an encounter of them. Kiba also gave her a cold look. That was probably the reason he was in that cage when Hige and I first met him.

"That old guy. Wasn't he with you last time we saw you?" Toboe asked. "I don't know. We… got split up." she answered, looking at her feet. "He was tracking us back in the city and he tried killing us before." Kiba states. He wasn't wrong at that. He tried killing us before we had gone in the Forest of Death. He's partly the reason why I don't like humans. "I know that… That's why he was there. He'll track down a wolf to the end's of the earth." Blue responds, her voice stern. "But aren't you a wolf too?" Toboe murmurs. By the look on her face, she didn't want to talk about that. "Hey, that girl who was with you five. She had… a really strange scent." Blue said, looking at us with widened eyes. I knew she was talking about Cheza.

"Girl? You mean Cheza?" Toboe wondered. "Cheza?" Blue repeats, blinking. I know she has met Cheza before but never knew her name. Cheza was the only one who revealed that Blue has wolf in her. "Hey, I know! Let's not talk about that, okay? How about we find food? We did just bump into each other and all. Besides there's too much danger for a girl to be out in a dingy city like this!" Hige intersects. I roll my eyes at this because he underestimates she-wolves way too easily. In case he hasn't noticed, my instincts to protect myself is pretty keen and I punched the hell out of one of those humans back there.

"Tch. Care to test that damn theory, Hige?" I growl, giving him angry eyes. The tan wolf looks back at me and gave me a look that showed he didn't want to do that. "That's what I thought." I say with a smug grin. "Yeah, fat chance Porky." Tsume growls. "Why not?!" Hige exclaimed, opposed. "As if any of us would hang around with her. If you've forgotten, she tried killing us back in the city. And why are you on her side anyway? You don't even know her." Tsume spats. Hige looked offended by Tsume's response. Tsume wasn't wrong. Hige doesn't get it because he's too lovestruck with a new female. That's how he was with not only me but with that one she-wolf back in that other city.

"Sorry Hige. I'd rather not be a damn trophy to that hunter of hers. She has every intent of going back to being that humans lapdog. And don't make the suggestion that we should let her go with us. You'd only say that because she hasn't tried to hunt your ass down before like she's done with us." I said coldly. I wanted nothing to do with this wolfdog. She turns from us and started walking down the debris we were sitting on, "Forget it. I don't want to hang around with a bunch of kids either. See you around." "H-Hey! Ugh, aren't you guys being cold?! Wait up! It's dangerous!" Hige growled, going after her. "Hige!" Toboe called. He was already out of ear shot. Tsume sits down on the debris with a hand on his leg.

"His tail wags whenever there's a girl around. But when she rejects him, there's no doubt that he'll come sulking back. Luna, I guarantee you turned him down before." the grey wolf said, looking at me. I lean back on my hands and sigh heavily. "Yeah. I have. In case he hasn't noticed, I'm not ready for a mate. And I don't think I'll be ready for one any time soon." I said, rolling my neck to pop it. Hige's a nice guy however he's not my type. Even if he got slapped in the face for being a flirt, he'd still try to pick them up. Wouldn't be surprised there to be honest.

"When we were back in that city, she found out she's half wolf." Kiba inquired, looking in the direction Hige and Blue took off in. "Half wolf?" Toboe questions. "Yeah. Cheza's the one who told her." Kiba continued. "Do you think Cheza's okay wherever she is?" the pup wondered. I honestly don't know right now. I'm tired from all the chaos that we had to put up with while she was with us. After a bit, Toboe had decided to go after Hige and Blue. Hopefully he wouldn't do much spying on them.

A few hours fly by us. The sun was beginning to set; changing the sky in a colorful pattern of orange and yellow. I lay down on my back with my arms laying across my stomach and my legs bent up. The air around us was beginning to get cooler and it felt good on my skin. My eyes stared straight up at the orange-yellow colored sky. It reminded me of when I'd watch the sunset with my prior pack. It was our favorite time of the day. Boy… I sure do miss it.

"That's the same crest from where Cheza was being held at." Kiba says, breaking the silence. I turn my head in his direction to see what he was talking about. I raise to a sitting position where one leg was lowered but the other was still raised. I rested my right arm on my right leg while my left hand was used as support to help me sit up. "You mean the Darcia family crest? This place probably belongs to that noble's territory." Tsume inquiries quietly. "It's as if that family owns almost every city we've been in." I say, looking at the family crest. "The curse of the house of Darcia…" Kiba mutters, sounding like he was lost in his thoughts. "What'd you say?" Tsume asks, turning his head to look at him. "That's what he said when he saw what we were." Kiba answered. "Well, humans have always seen wolves like that. That's why they're so scared of us." I say, stretching my limbs.

Wolves in this universe have been the humans mortal enemy in a reason that I don't fully understand. We've always been feared or hated. "She's not wrong about that. And why didn't you let that human have it back there? Luna and I expected you to kill him the chance you got. And don't blame it on your injuries." Tsume asked, shrugging his shoulders. Yeah that's true. As fierce as Kiba is, I'm well surprised that he spared that human. "If I wasn't so sore from that fight, I would've. Besides, they probably wouldn't have tasted as good." Kiba said with a smirk. I chuckle and close my eyes for a moment.

It was peaceful for a moment before the sudden sound of a single gunshot scared the absolute hell out of all of us. "What the hell?!" Tsume shouted, getting to his feet. Kiba and I also jumped to our feet. The gunshot had come from those damn humans that we encountered earlier. This time they had guns on them. I stood in a fighting stance in case they tried anything with us. "Well looky here. We've got us some wolves. Jaguara will pay us a small fortune for you three." the leader chuckled, cocking his shotgun. This confused me. Who was Jaguara? And what did she want with us?

The leader who first spoke raised his shotgun and pointed it at us. "Run!" I exclaim the minute that shotgun was raised. The three of us took off running from the humans. Adrenaline ran through my veins as we made a run for it. There were two more loud gunshots behind us. I then feel a sharp pain in my arm and I yell out the second the bullet hit me. It was coming from my left leg. This caused me to limp a little bit heavily. I glance down at where the pain was coming from. There was a graze in my leg, indicating that I have been shot.

We make it to a trailer home in hopes of getting away from those insane humans. I had to stop because of the pain in my leg. Tsume too stopped and he held his right arm. Kiba turned and came back to us. "Are you two okay?" he asked. "Yeah. The bullets only grazed us." Tsume answered. Tsume had been shot as well.

"What's the matter?" the voice of an elderly lady said. We looked up at where the voice came from. There was an old lady standing by the trailer with her hands put together. She was a human. "Have you three been hurt? Are you alright?" she asks in a caring voice. This shook me because I've never heard such kindness from any human that I've ran into. However, another old human, who looked to be her husband, saw us and got his gun. A lump formed in my throat in seeing the gun.

"Elmira, you come over here now!" he said urgently. "None of us have no intention of hurting you." Kiba said, slightly raising his hands. We tried avoiding conflict with these humans. "Oh for heaven's sakes dear! Put the gun down! They're just children!" the woman says, looking to her husband. "Don't be stupid! They're strays and dangerous!" the old man retaliates. My eyes widen and I choked on my next breath. Could he see what we really are? "Elmira, I may be old but I'm not going senile! Take a close look at those three!" _the old man stated, seeing us in our wolf forms. My yellow wolf eyes shift from him to the lady. She couldn't see that we were wolves._

We stand in human form and the sound of on coming footsteps made our way towards us. "Oh crap!" Hige shrieks from behind us. I look behind me to see him and Toboe. It relieved me to see them in one piece. Then, the form of the wolfdog ran by us in her wolf form. She runs up to the old man, who takes a shot at her. She avoids it completely and slides on her wolf paws to stop. The way she looked at him showed she meant no harm. Her wolf ears were laid back all the way. Hige and Toboe stood by us.

"We're not going to do anything to you. So leave us be." Kiba inquired. The old man looks at him with his teeth grit. He was unsure about all this. He knows we're wolves so it was hard to trust us. "We don't need to fight if there's no reason to. None of us want to kill." Kiba continued, hoping the man wouldn't shoot us. We seemed to appease this human because he lowered his gun slowly. After that, my ears catch the voices of those damn humans from before. Shivers ran down my spine and my heart was beating five times as fast as it should have.

"Those humans that are chasing us want to sell us for a high bargain. We need you to help us so we can avoid any more bloodshed." I say, looking straight at the old man. He has to help us. If those humans caught us, we were as good as dead. After a minute of negotiation, he followed through with our plan. _We all lay in a pile in our wolf forms on the side of the trailer. We had to play dead._ "Die you damn wolves! Take this! And this!" _the old man exclaimed, purposely missing us with each shot._ "Did you kill them?!" _the leader of that brigade shouts in shock. The rest of that conflict I ended up tuning out. I had to focus on playing dead in front of these humans. That brigade soon left because they believed we were dead. I never believed that such humans would take the time to help wolves from certain death._

A few hours pass by and the night was here. The only light that illuminated on us was the trailer porch light. The elderly lady had been kind enough to bring us some chicken on a single plate. We ate it in human form and let the woman speak to us. Blue was sitting next to the old man with her wolf head lowered, getting gentle strokes from him. "Please forgive my husband. I can't believe he thinks you six are wolves of all things. He's been getting more confused lately." the old lady says. He wasn't going crazy though. He was seeing right. We are wolves.

"We've come out here to spend what time we have left on the road he tells me. This trailer is our home as well as our coffin." she continued to speak. Her voice had melancholy written all over it. Something tells me that they won't have much time left before this world supposedly dies. "Oh and the house of Darcia's out in the west is such a sad sight." she inquired, "It was such a beautiful sight once but it's nothing more than a giant grave." "The castle of Darcia?" Kiba quietly repeats. I concentrate on eating my fill to hold us over for right now. It wasn't the best but it was all we had to eat right now. And I didn't mind the hospitality.

"It's as if the worlds given up. Waiting for the end." the lady says in despair. She's not wrong on one point because who knows how long we've got left until the world does officially die. I don't want to know when it will to be honest. "No it hasn't." Kiba says. She looks over to him with a turbid look on her face. "The old man's not confused at all. He's correct. We are wolves." Kiba states. Usually none of us would reveal about us being wolves but this was an acception. "You ready, runt?" Hige asks. Toboe grins and quickly nods in response. Blue then stands up in her human form, indicating she was ready to go.

I stand up and thank the humans for their hospitality. Afterwards, we all leave that place and we figure out where to go. We would be heading out to Darcia's keep. I guarantee that something is bound to get in our way while we make our way there. I have my doubts.


	17. Chapter 17 Fangs of Steel

We all had made it back to that city we were in prior to that attack of when Cheza was taken. We were on the outskirts of it, thinking of where we should go. I wasn't prepared of going to get myself killed all for Cheza. Frankly, I think the only one here that really cares about getting Cheza back was Kiba. He was very attached to her unlike the rest of us. I know I said that I have a soft spot for that flower maiden and it is true however I don't want to risk my own ass getting her back. That sounds stupid I know.

I leaned next to where Toboe was, who was standing on the balcony railing, looking out to the distance in front of us. "That's where that noble took Cheza, right?" Toboe wondered. "Yeah. He did take her there." Kiba vaguely answered. "That lady said something about Darcia's Keep in the west. Shouldn't she be there?" I asked, looking at the white wolf. "Yeah." he answers. That would make sense. Cheza should be there and I do know that we're going to have to track and find him in order to get her back.

"So where is it that you 5 are going to?" Blue asks us. "We're going to Paradise." Hige answered. The wolfdog seemed flustered and confused about where we were going to. "It's something every wolf has to do at least once in their lives." Hige smugly responds. I sigh and roll my eyes. He may think that but I try to keep my distance away from it. Judging by Tsume's posture, I believe he's the same way. "Aren't you going too?" Hige asks the wolfdog. All she did was look down with her eyes shut. "Sounds tempting. But I wouldn't be able to go." she answered. She's not wrong about that. She's only half wolf so chance's of paradise accepting her are slim. "Well, if your not going then neither am I." Hige promptly says. I look over to the tan wolf.

"Hige… you can't seriously be already head over heels for her. She's better off staying with her human." I said logically. I don't believe that Blue would be good to come with us. Of course, I don't believe it's in my place to say. "I'd have to agree with Luna. It's not too late for you to go back to your human." Kiba inquired. Hige looked shocked by our words. He didn't seem to agree with what we suggested. "What the hell are you saying you guys?" he asks, addressing his question to Kiba and I. I was just giving my recommendations with how this situation was going to benefit us.

Toboe turns and jumps down from the wall edge. Hige stands up and gets in between Toboe and I. "We just need to keep moving forward right?" Hige asked exasperated, fistbumping the air with a clenched fist. "Yeah, I can see right through you, Porky." Tsume bluntly says. Toboe leans on the ledge with both of his arms to hold him up "Now if only Cheza was with us…" Toboe says quietly. Hige ends up socking the pup in the head at the very mention of the flower maiden. "Ow! Oh…!" he groans, rubbing the side of head. "Didn't I tell you not to say that?!" Hige hisses. I roll my eyes because that was getting annoying.

"Okay, now that we got things settled, time to move out! Onward to Paradise!" Hige calls out, pointing in the direction that Toboe was facing earlier. "We're going this way." Kiba corrects, pointing in front of him. "Paradise isn't that way." Toboe says. "But Darcia's keep is." Kiba replied. I lift my head at that and my eyebrows raise. He knew that we needed Cheza if we were going to get anywhere with this damn journey.

"Is that where Cheza is?" Toboe asked. Kiba looks behind him to nod at the pup. "You do realize that Cheza left us at her own will." Tsume growls. "Yeah. We'd surely die this time." I agree. There was a good chance that we'd get killed while going there. Kiba's eyes narrowed at us. He was too stubborn to actually believe that would happen. His pride would drive him and keep him going. I don't know if we would be the same.

 _Soon enough, the six of us got a move on after some thought. We all ran in a mishmash of a variety of colored wolves. A mix of white, grey, black, rusty red, tan, and dark blue. We were making our way to Darcia's keep. The sun was warm against my wolf body as well as the cracked, sandy ground. I didn't fully agree with Blue coming because she's not full wolf like the rest of us are._

 _Time was running short and there was no time to let it slip passed us. It had gone by so fast that I hadn't realized that we were now in a wasteland of nothing but solid ice and snow. There was nothing ahead of us. Nothing as far as the eye could see. It was as if the path is never ending. Where were we?_ _We stop in our tracks._

" _Guys, do you know where we are?" Toboe asks, looking left to right. Kiba lifted his wolf head up and sniffed the air. "There isn't anything here. We must've gone the wrong direction." the white wolf stated. "I should've known you'd get us damn lost, Kiba!" Tsume growled, his wolf fangs bared. Kiba bares his wolf fangs and looks at the grey wolf. I shake my wolf head and got in between the two males, my wolf tail up. "Cut it out, you two! Your arguments aren't making things better. Let's figure out where to go before we fight." I say, looking at them. Usually, I wouldn't pipe into a fight however, I had to put a stop to it._

 _They were stunned to see me come in between them. "She's right. Fighting recklessly like this is pointless." Toboe said, his wolf ears lowered. Knowing the pup, he was a pacifist and didn't like seeing them fight. Nothing else was said and the two males walked off in trying to figure out what to do. The rest of us follow them._

After a while, we come face to face with a very steep rock face. I knew we wouldn't make it over easily. "You guys sure we can go over it? I mean, it looks pretty steep." Toboe wondered. "Not a chance. If we try that, chances are that an avalanche might start." Tsume said logically. "Are you saying we should go back the way we came? I swear if you say yes then I'll kill you." I stated, giving the grey wolf a sideways glare. "Well, from the looks of it, it's too dangerous. We'd plummet to our deaths if we try." Hige said. "We need to split up." Kiba suggested. We all looked at him. He was looking around.

"What are you saying?" Blue stated, confused on his suggestion. "If we're going to Darcia's keep to get Cheza back, we need to be in one piece. The terrain is far too steep for us to go over. So we need to pair up to find a path. Luna, you and Toboe will search the east. Hige and Blue will take the lower region. Tsume and I will take the west. If you guys find anything, howl to let us know. But if not, we'll meet back here and figure something out." Kiba said, actually thinking things out for once.

"Fair enough. At least I'll get more acquainted with Blue here." Hige said, making a flirtatious gesture towards the wolfdog. "Don't even think about it." she growled, walking away, "Can I be with Luna?" I looked to the wolf dog. From the look on her face, she wanted nothing to do with Hige and I can't blame her because she's not the only one Hige has flirted with. Not only me but with Zali's mate, Cole. I mean, it would be nice to have another female to talk to for once and not just males. "It is decided. " Kiba agreed. Hige gave off a pouty lip because of not be paired with Blue. "So unfair." Blue groaned. "Quit your whining. And let's move out." Kiba said.

 _And with that, Toboe and I take off towards the east in our wolf forms while the others went their paths. There was snow where Toboe and I were treading on with our wolf paw prints engraving in the snow. After 10 minutes of running, Toboe and I came across a mountain face that was covered in ice and snow._

" _So far nothing. You think there's something over there?" Toboe questioned, his wolf ears raised as he looked to he's right. "I don't think so. We should go towards the mountain face. Maybe we'll get something from there." I say, lifting my wolf head to sniff the air. "I don't want that Blue is happy being partnered with Hige." Toboe said, looking at me with his dark gold eyes. "God knows he's going to try to make a move on her." I said, giving a chuckle. "You mean, he's done it with Zali's mate and you, twice." he said. "Yep. Those were awful. I bet he'll be sulking once she rejects his perverted ass." I replied, starting to trot along the path. He followed suit._

After a while, we had come across what I can only assume to be a small hut that lay in the middle of an enclosed clearing. "I wouldn't bother with it. You go this way and I'll look over here." I say, walking away. Chances are if there's a hut in the middle of it, there would be a human in it. Behind me, I could hear the sound of paws from behind me. That meant Toboe heard what I said. I started looking around while stepping over rocks and fallen logs.

Just then, I feel the ground rumble underneath my feet, getting me to stop. "What the hell?" I say to myself. When I turn around, the scent of a human filled the air. I had no choice but to go back to investigate. When I got there, Toboe had fallen through the wall of ice that enclosed the clearing. He stood in his wolf form with his wolf tail in between his wolf hind legs. Toboe had cowered down with his wolf ears raised some. There in front of him, was what I feared. A human that had a knife. Every fiber of my being was boiling. He was going to hurt Toboe.

 _I stand in my wolf form at the edge of the cliff. "Grrrrrrrr…" I growl, my wolf fangs bared. I raised my wolf tail and stand in a fighting stance. Both Toboe and the human look at me. The human looked scared because of seeing a bigger wolf than Toboe come to his aid. Just then, I leap from the wall face and use my wolf forepaws to push him down to the ground with a loud thud. I was now on top of the human; baring my wolf fangs at him with a deep yet threatening growl to accompany it._

 _He looked scared shitless and he tried reaching for his knife that had landed a few inches from us. When he tried grabbing it, I did not hesitate to sink my wolf fangs into his forearm; getting him to yell in pain. Blood spewed out of the wound and I suddenly feel the blow of his other fist strike me in my wolf eye, getting me to let go with a yelp. I stumbled back and closed my wolf eyes. "Luna!" Toboe exclaimed. It took me a few minutes to recover and I glance at Toboe. "Call the others! I'll take this human down!" I say, looking back in the humans direction. He was starting to back up._

 _I charged at him again with my wolf teeth bared at top speed. He tried stabbing me with his hunting knife however I dodged the attempt. "GROAR!" I snarl, opening my wolf jaws. I bit down hard on his other arm, his blood spewing out over my wolf muzzle and all over him. "You fucking-!" he exclaimed in pain. He didn't hesitate to use his knife to cut the side of my wolf face, getting me to yelp once again. My own blood was dripping down my cheek. Then, there was a loud, distressed howl coming from Toboe to alert the others. I stumbled back a little bit and my wolf head lowered a little bit._

 _My wolf fangs remained bared and I growled deeply, not taking my wolf eyes off the human._ "No! Don't even try!" _the human seethed, holding his bloody arm. But I didn't back down and charged at him again, he tried stabbing me again however I dodged to the right and quickly did a you turn around him and jump on him and sink my wolf fangs deep into his shoulder. I held him down with my wolf fangs deep into his shoulder, his blood covering his shoulder. Then, there was a pain in my right shoulder, getting me to let go._

 _The pain caused me to fall onto my right side. Toboe doesn't hesitate to rush over to me. Just then, I see the forms of the others rushing down to where we were. The human takes off running at the sight of four more wolves coming in his direction with their wolf fangs bared. My shoulder throbbed heavily and I felt my blood drizzle down on the ice below us._ " _Luna! Are you okay?" Toboe said, trotting around me to get in front of me. "It's my shoulder… that human stabbed me." I say, gritting my wolf teeth. Then, I feel Toboe start to lick my wound in a caring way. I didn't mind it. He was doing what he was doing what he could to help._

I sit up while holding my cut arm in my human form. "That human's taken care of." Tsume growled, being the first to walk over to us. "He was a tough one but he's not able to take on a pack of wolves like us." Hige boasted. "Yeah… I guess." I chuckle, still holding my arm. Kiba kneels down to where I was and bandaged up my wound so no blood would seep through. "We saw that there were bite marks on his arms and shoulder. Was that you Luna?" Kiba asked. "Yeah, that was me. He was threatening Toboe. I had to protect him." I answer. "Damn, you're badass Luna." Hige complemented. I give him a sideways glance before standing up.

"Okay, now that you're fixed up, let's get moving. Tsume and I found a path to Darcia's keep towards the west. Let's go. " Kiba said, taking the lead once again. One by one, we follow the white wolf. _We walk in our mish mash of colored wolves once again of white, grey, black, dun, red, and dark blue. It hurt to walk on my injured leg but I was in no position to complain. Hopefully we wouldn't have to split up again and go through another fight like that again._

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	18. Chapter 18 Fallen Keep

Just a few hours had flown by and a blizzard began to brew in the dark clouded sky. The wind howled in my ears while we all walked through snow. My cheeks were becoming frost bitten from the icy wind. My arm still hurt some but it wasn't as bad as when I first got it. It's going to take more than a measly cut to get me down.

Hige had stopped walking to look behind him while panting. Blue, Toboe and I were trying to catch up but the harsh weather was slowing us down. Everyone stopped walking. Everyone except Kiba. He just kept on moving. "Hey, Kiba!" Hige called but it fell on deaf ears. In a growl, he stomped over to the white wolf and grabbed him by the shoulder in order to get him to stop. "Dammit, would you wait up?" he growled, "Can we stop and take a break?" "We don't have time for that." Kiba replied, "We gotta keep going." "Would you use your head for once? May I remind you that we got two girls and a kid with us? Not to mention Luna is hurt still?" Hige inquired loudly. I roll my eyes at that because I'm not a pup. He's treating us like we're kids.

"Luna and I aren't deaf you know. Don't worry about us." Blue piped in. I panted and lifted myself up to straighten my back up. "Yeah, I think we're capable of keeping up. Just because I've got a small cut on my arm doesn't mean I'll slow down." I add. "Yeah, me too." Toboe said, his hands on his knees. Hige's the complainer of this misfit pack so it was obvious that he's wanting to stop. He's not being subtle about it.

"You guys do realize he's the one that wants to stop right?" Tsume points out. The tan wolf turns around and starts to protest. "But you do got to admit that he's got a point. At this rate, we'll won't make it. There's some rocks over there. Why don't we rest there until the storm clears?" Tsume continued, looking off to a distant form of old debris that the nobles supposedly used before. Judging by the look on Kiba's face, he didn't seem all that thrilled about Tsume directing traffic. I too needed a break because my arm was still hurting from the fight with that human.

"I agree. My wound is still sore from that attack. It couldn't hurt to stop for a little bit." I say, beginning to walk past them. Tsume, Toboe, and Blue followed suit behind me. "Can you girls hang on for a little longer?" Hige asked us. "Just worry about yourself." Blue inquired dryly. "Yes ma'am. Sorry." Hige apologizes. We all headed to that shelter Tsume said about. From the looks of it, it was perfect for us to stay until the blizzard dies down.

Once inside, I sat by Tsume with my legs pulled to my chest with my arms wrapped around them. Toboe and Blue resided on the wall next to us while Hige was at the wall across from Tsume and I. Kiba stood by the door with his back facing us. "The sun'll be up soon. We should move out when the storm stops." Tsume grumbles, breaking the silence around us. "How about it Kiba?" Hige said with a smirk. "It already has." the white wolf stated blankly, "C'mon, it'll be fine." "Look, you can go out there and freeze your ass off but I'm not going anywhere til morning. With the way you've been pushing us, Kiba, we won't make it!" I snarl, giving him a dead stare. I didn't want to move because I was still sore and my body called it quits for now.

"Suit yourselves." Kiba said before jumping out of the debris and completely out of sight. "Kiba!" Toboe exclaimed, jumping up. "Just let him go." Hige groaned. "Why?" Toboe asked, looking at Hige. "Right now the only thing he sees is Cheza. He's blocked the rest of us out. I doesn't make a difference if we're with him or not." Hige continued, closing his eyes. He was done just as much as I was. Kiba had gone too far this time. He doesn't give a damn about the rest of us right now. But who am I to say that I didn't like how he's been pushing us constantly.

"Let's not worry about that right now. For now, let's get some rest while we can." Tsume muttered. Fine by me. _I lay down on my good side as to not my injured shoulder. Laying down actually felt good. Being off my wolf paws felt so damn good. Once I closed my wolf eyes, I instantly drifted off to sleep._

When morning arrived, we did not hesitate to move out to find Kiba. The weather was better than last night because of the storm dying down just as we predicted. But the clouds were still dark above us. It was much easier to see where we were going. Judging by this keep, it looked as if it hadn't been inhabited for many years. But the scent of it proved me wrong. "This must be it. The flower scent is strong here." I say, looking directly at the keep. "Looks like this place should be haunted." Hige said in a cheeky tone. "By what?" Toboe asked curiously. "By the ghosts of the past nobles." he chuckled in an evil way. "Hey, don't say stuff like that!" Toboe said timidly. All I did was roll my eyes. Hige is such an ass I swear.

We walk slowly towards the keep in silence. That was until the shape of a small red car. "He's got visitors." Tsume said. It didn't take long before Blue suddenly took off to the car in a gasp of shock. She rushed towards it and looked in it. "What's with you?" Hige asked, catching up with her. She bent down in her wolf form for a moment to check the scent. "Pops is here…" she said, before taking the lead towards the keep. We all followed her in a sprint. Why would she be excited to see him? He hates wolves so if he finds out she's half wolf, he's going to disown her.

She had gotten ahead in a fast walking pace with determination. Hige caught up with her while panting. "Why the hell are you in such a rush?" he asked. "Pops is here. I just know it." she answered, still walking fast. I too catch up with her so I walked on her right side. "Do you think he'll still want to see you? Even if your half wolf?" I asked logically. At that, we all stop walking. She looked down sadly as if she changed her mind about going to find him. "No… It'd be better if I didn't." Blue said. "Maybe the reason he's out here… is to find you." Toboe said, giving her a sympathetic look. That brought silence over the corridor we were in. She seemed unsure about actually going back to him since her wolf side woke up.

"So? Even if he is, do you really want to be that human's slave again?" Tsume asked coldly. We all turned around to face the grey wolf. "Hey lay off!" Hige said. "Yeah, Tsume, shut up! You don't know what it's like!" Toboe agreed, clenching his fist together. Tsume just smirked at that. "You're right. I don't know what it's like. But I don't see the pleasure of being someone's pet." he said bluntly. Tsume didn't need to say that about Blue. I don't like humans as much as he does however I don't fully agree with him on that.

"C'mon, let's fight later. Let's get to Cheza and Kiba." I say, breaking the fight up. "Couldn't agree more with you, Luna." Hige said, rolling his eyes at this petty argument. We follow down the corridor to where the flower scent was coming from. Once we did find it, there was a sound of swords clashing against what I can only decipher to be the concrete floor. There was double doors and when we go through it, we see Kiba standing in his wolf form with his wolf tail raised and in a fighting position in front of the old man. He held his gun towards Kiba's wolf head to kill him.

"No, _don't!"_ Blue cried and pounced in front of Kiba in her wolf form. At the very sight of Blue protecting the one creature he despises is appalling. He lowered his gun. "Blue…" he said with wide eyes. "Kiba!" Toboe shouted. From my right, I saw that Darcia's servant was holding a orb. She quickly looked up at Darcia, who stood by a fallen Cheza. "My Lord Darcia!" she gasps as a red beam suddenly struck the castle with a hard hit. Once the beam struck, there was no sight of that servant again.

Kiba's wolf head twisted to the right as he looked at Cheza. " _Cheza!"_ he cried, trying to run towards her, only to be cut off by another beam. "Kiba!" Tsume calls. The white wolf did a backflip and landed in his human form kneeled down. Suddenly, there was another explosion cause a huge piece of rubble to rise so Cheza was blocked off completely. "CHEZA!" Kiba shouted at the top of his lungs. "Blue no!" Hige cried. "Blue!" I cried, not seeing the wolfdog anywhere in sight.

We had no choice but to get the hell out of there. There were explosions everywhere we went. We all turned down into another corridor. Kiba then decided to take off in another direction. Debris began to crumble onto the floor in front of us. "Kiba, what are you doing?! KIBA!" Tsume shouted. Smoke filled the area so we couldn't see him anymore. "C'mon! We have to get the hell out of here!" I shout over the loud noises. They don't hesitate to follow me out of the keep. Lucky for us, we were in one piece.

When everything started to die down, I see… nothing. Darcia's keep was obliterated into nothing. No sight of Kiba, Blue, or Cheza anywhere. Snow began to fall from the darkened sky slowly. It started turning the land around us in it's white fluorescent glow. Everything was silent and I just had my back turned towards the others, not being able to think straight. I feel a tear slowly flow down my cheek as Toboe's mournful howl echoed through the stagnant air. It felt hopeless...

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	19. Chapter 19 Dream of an Oasis

_The snow fell calmly around us as we walk in wolf form. We had no choice but to move on without him because we couldn't find him. He was long gone. Not even his scent is here is here. I walk in between Tsume and Hige; barely lifting my wolf paws off of the snow. My wolf tail remained limp behind me and my wolf ears were lowered as well as my wolf head. My head felt as if it was in a fog; so much so that I can't even think straight._

" _He's gone… why can't we find him?" Toboe whispered in disbelief. "He's got to be here somewhere. He couldn't have just disappeared with the keep." I say. "Well, we looked everywhere we could. He's nowhere to be found." Hige replied. He wasn't wrong because after the incident, we had looked for him but found nothing around that area._

"He couldn't… He couldn't be…" Toboe starts. My hands remain in my pockets and I just look at my feet with a frown. "Who knows? He might be…" Hige sighs quietly. I lift my eyes to see Tsume start to walk in the direction that we had just come from. "Tsume, where you going?" I call out. "I'm going to find him." he replied without turning around. I took my hands out of my pockets and hugged my stomach. "What's the point? You guys are just wasting your time. He's not out there." Hige said in an irritated tone. The way he said that got me to look at him with a raised eyebrow.

"You know what? I'm done. It's hopeless." the tan wolf growls, turning his back to us. "Done with what?" Tsume asked. Hige then lays on his back with his hands behind his head. "Paradise. I don't give a damn anymore." he quietly answers. My eyes widened at this. Since when did he decide to give up on Paradise? "What the hell are you saying, Hige?" I ask him. My heart started to break at how Hige was acting. He didn't seem like himself at this stage.

"I'm saying count me out." he answers angered. "What?! You can't be serious!" Toboe exclaims, clenching his fists together. "I was never interested in going." Hige says more softened. "Oh really? You seemed so happy to be with us." Tsume said. There's no way he could give up now. He should've said something a long time ago and we would've probably left him behind. "If I never met Kiba, none of this would've happened to me." Hige said softly yet sadly. I cross my arms and look up at the grey sky with a forlorn look. I felt the same way as him before. Most time while going with them, I felt as though it would've been better if I had never met them at all.

"It's too late to change that, Hige. You can't just go back and expect everything to change." I retort. "No, he's right Luna. If none of us had met him, we wouldn't be in this mess. We could've lived the rest of our lives without too much trouble." Tsume inquired. "You're one to talk, Tsume. You've spent most of your life in the damn city getting into loads of trouble by those damn soldiers." I spat at him. This caught him off guard. Our eyes lock together for a moment. "I had heard from my… my father. He had taught me that wolves are supposed to live their lives without any privileges. No humans have any right to control our every action. You have to… let those instincts guide you." I explain, remembering what my father had taught me and my siblings a long time ago.

"Forget about that, Luna. Those nobles are taking control as we speak. So… there's no way I'd believe something as stupid as that." Hige spat. My blood started to boil in my veins. That statement had struck a nerve deep inside me because he insulted what my own father had told me. "You shut the hell up! Don't you dare talk about my father like that! I'll damn well kill you if you try it again." I growl, feeling the urge to fight. I was already sad enough as it is so I don't need him to say that to me. "Hey… knock it off would you two?" Toboe says softly. I turn around half way to look at him. He was knelt down by Hige with his arms wrapped around himself.

"Can't you see how wrecked our bodies are already?" he continues, his voice sounding upset yet quiet. I close my eyes and look away. "Why does everyone got to fight over everything? Always arguing and stealing from each other all the time. It's a big enough world. Why can't we share it as one? Wolves, humans, and birds equally. It would be like that if we jut find Paradise." the red wolf preached. I realized that he was correct about everything he said just now. Everyone in this dying world is too conceited and selfish to even exist. Even me and Tsume…

After thinking about what the red wolf said, he suddenly springs up to his feet and started sniffing the air. "I don't know but it's a familiar scent." Toboe answered. I too sniff the air for a moment and found what he was talking about. "I know what that scent belongs to. Let's go." I say as Toboe and I lead the way. We followed our noses to the scent that was a few miles away. There was a half frozen corpse lying in the snow. It caused my eyes to narrow as I figure out who it belonged to.

"It's him again." Tsume growls. Toboe immediately kneels down to where the old man was and checks his pulse. "He's halfway frozen." he says. Can't say that I feel any sort of sympathy towards the one human who relentlessly tried to kill us before. "Just leave him here. It's what he deserves." Hige harshly says, crossing his arms. "Why do you say that when you know how important he is to Blue?!" Toboe scolded, looking back at Hige, "He's going to die if we don't do something." Hige looks away from him with a scoff as if he'd been struck with Toboe's words. "There wasn't anything we could do to save Blue…" Toboe whispered. Suddenly, Hige snaps at the red wolf. He suddenly grabs him by the collar of his shirt and hooks a left fist at his jaw, sending the pup flying backwards into the snow with a hard landing.

My eyes narrow angrily at what Hige did and I use my own fist to punch Hige hard. Tsume then takes hold of Hige's collar to pull him back before the fight could ensue further. "Would you knock it off?!" Tsume scolded. I stand in front of Toboe in a fighting stance. "Don't take it out on him." I say civilly. I turn towards Toboe and ask him if he's okay. "Yeah." he nods. Hige huffs at this. "We're looking for Kiba right? Then, let's go." he said in an agitated tone. He turns around and puts his hands in his pockets.

"Why don't you two go on ahead. Luna and I will catch up." Toboe says, looking down for a moment. "Don't come crying to me when he wakes up and shoots you two." Hige yells. I roll my eyes at him. "Toboe? Luna?" Tsume says. "Just go." I urge. "Okay. Don't get too involved. He's a human after all." Tsume replied, before he turns and walks away from Toboe and I. I sigh and look down at my feet. I couldn't help but think why Hige suddenly got so defensive when Toboe mentioned Blue. Was she starting to grow on him like… I was starting to grow on Tsume?

 _I stand in my wolf form with my wolf ears lowered. But the sound of Toboe's bracelets got them to raise up. When I look behind me, he was in his wolf form too. He approached the old man and lowered his wolf head. I too turn around and slowly walk around them. Toboe then sits down by the dying man and lays down with him. This action made my wolf head to raise a little. It amazed me that Toboe still trusts this human after he tried to kill us many times before._

 _Then, the old man wraps his arm around Toboe's back, getting a shocked look from the both of us._ "Blue…" _the old man said weakly. He… he thinks he's hugging Blue? He's delusional… Toboe turns his wolf head to look at him calmly. "_ There you are… my good girl… Blue." _the old man continued. He opened his eyes and looked up. I thought he'd see it isn't Blue he's hugging but instead… he was seeing someone else._

"Russ…" _he whimpered tearfully as he hugged Toboe close to him as he cried softly. Toboe then licked his tears away in a comforting way. I lifted my wolf head a little. Toboe had actually saved him from certain death… I now realize how much humans mean to this pup. After a while, the two of us had left the old man and we follow the wolf pawprints that were from Tsume and Hige._

" _That was amazing, Toboe." I say, looking at the red wolf. His wolf eyes met mine. "Really?" he said, tilting his wolf head. We stop walking and I stand in front of him. "I didn't think you'd be so forgiving towards a human like that." I say. "He deserves to live, Luna. I couldn't let him die like that. It wouldn't be fair." the red wolf said, looking down at his forepaws. I walk up to the red wolf and give him a comforting nuzzle on his wolf head. "You did the right thing. Even I don't have the heart to do what Hige did by rejecting help for him." I retort. He nuzzled me back. This pup was too innocent to be going through all of this._

" _C'mon, let's catch up. They're probably wondering where we're at." I said, stepping back from him. "Yeah. I agree." he replied. We then moved out from that area, continuing to follow the wolf pawprints Hige and Tsume left behind. Looking at this wolf, I realized how much he's grown on me. Like a little brother if you would. I didn't see him in any other way other than a little brother._

After a while, we made it into a dusty looking canyon. It was much warmer in this area than back in the snowy tundra. I was a couple of steps ahead of Toboe. Everything was quiet until the distinct sounds of hoofbeats caught my attention. Toboe too stopped. "Did you hear that?" he asked. I look behind me and listened carefully. "Yeah… Yeah I did." I answer. We continue to walk but those hoofbeats were getting louder and louder. We look behind us once again and my heart dropped to my stomach. There were two humans on horses coming after us with bows and arrows in their hands.

"Oh shit! Toboe, run!" I yell, starting to run. Toboe followed me in a sprint. Just then, an arrow was fired from one of the indians. Toboe lets out a distressed howl into the air. Luckily the arrow missed us and penetrated the ground. We were fast however those humans were faster on their horses. My heart felt like it was going to explode out of my chest at how fast I was running. They got on either side of us, causing us to fall to the ground. They got in front of us to keep us from running away. That fear I felt just a second ago faded away and I get in front of Toboe protectively. The indian pulled back his arrow and was ready to fire it.

But then, Tsume and Hige came running to us in their wolf forms with their wolf fangs bared. They leaped onto the horses and sunk their wolf fangs into them to knock them over. They all cried out in shock and fell on their backs. Tsume pinned the first indian down and Hige held the other one up against the wall. Toboe and I sighed in relief. Tsume had his knife held up against the indians throat tightly.

"Are you one of Jaguara's flunkies?! Why is she after us?! What the hell does she want?!" Tsume demands in a growl. A lump formed in my throat at that name. Was Jagaura collecting wolves for her own benefit? "Jagaura?" the indian questioned in confusion. "She's collecting and killing wolves! And I want to know why!" Tsume responded with a growl. That lump thickened that it was hard to swallow it. The indian then started to laugh maniacally, getting us to look at each other in confusion.

"What's the big deal?" Toboe questioned, standing back up. "Why the hell are you laughing at us?" I ask, clenching my fists. "Well, you four could've said you were wolves to begin with." the indian answered, "Oh man. The elder's going to have my hide for this." In the heat of the moment, we couldn't exactly say that we are wolves. They were about to kill Toboe and I for no reason.

After that fiasco, we all started to walk back to where the indian's village supposedly is. "Sorry about that. You see, some of our friends were attacked last night and we assumed it was you guys." the first indian said. I put my hands in my jacket pockets and looked ahead of us. "Well, it wasn't." Tsume dryly says. "I know now. It couldn't have been wolves. For one, the culprit had guns. Besides we of the Moung Tribe believe in wolves in their existence and spirit." the indian continued on. "Believed in us?" Toboe questioned but it fell on deaf ears. "I thought humans were oblivious of us." I say, finding it hard to believe that these humans believe in wolves.

After a few minutes of walking, we come across the indians village. It was smaller than I thought. However, when we entered it, it was much bigger. Small human children ran by us in warm laughter as their pets chased after them playfully. I'll be honest, it made me warm inside seeing this. "So… everyone lives here together?" Toboe asked, mesmerized by the community. "Yeah. We travel as a unit. Treating everything as equal as the next. Horses, dogs, and humans." the indian chuckled. We followed him through it for another few minutes before we come to two little girls who were taking care of a dog with herbs on it. "How's he doing?" the indian asked, kneeling down in front of them. "He's much better now! And he stopped whimpering." one girl exclaimed. I smiled down at them because of how they were taking care of this dog.

The girls then take off running while giggling. The indian then looks after the injured dog. "Was he one of your friends that was hurt?" I ask him inquisitively. "Yeah. But we don't know if it was poachers that hurt him. They just hurt the dogs and left. He's been fighting to the very end." the indian answered. "We know who might've done it." Tsume growled, "That old human." "There's no way it could've been. He was half frozen." Toboe interjected. Hige scoffs at this before jerking his attention towards the pup.

"Why the hell are you so hellbent on protecting that geezer?!" he shouted. Toboe gazes up at the tan wolf with a saddened look. "He was talking… in his sleep. He was telling how sorry he was to Blue…" Toboe answered, looking down at his feet. "It's true, Hige. He thought Toboe was Blue…" I pipe in, looking at the tan wolf. He was in disbelief for a brief moment. "Maybe if they mistook the dogs for wolves…" Hige said, trailing off. "Jaguara then?" Tsume inquired. "If that's the case then… it would seem that Jaguara is killing anything she can get her hands on, even if it looks like a wolf." I explain, thinking logically. That's the only thing that she could be doing with anything that either is a wolf or looks like one. What else could it be?

They looked at me for a moment in silence. They had to know that it was possible. "Back there, you mentioned something about believing in wolves? What exactly did you mean by that?" Tsume asked, his arms crossed. The indian looked up at the grey wolf. "What did I mean? I meant what I said. Wolves are the ancestors of every human being. Except for the nobles of course." the indian explained. A small gasp escaped my throat as each word entered my ears. How… How were wolves the ancestors to the humans?

"Ihk?" someone says from behind us. We turn around to see the elder of this village. "Yes, elder?" Ihk answers as he stands up. "Bring along our guests would you?" the elder asks in a rough yet calm voice. We looked at one another but didn't say a word. It looked like we're going to get some more explanation as to what Ihk means by wolves being the ancestors of humans. The elders tent was just outside of the village. The interior looked warm and comforting. There was a lit fire in the center that illuminated the tent into an orange-yellow color.

We sit around the fire so we faced the elder. I sat beside Tsume on his right side with my legs pulled up to my chest. The elder then begins to speak to us in a soothing voice. "Long time ago, when man was still an animal, there had been an evil living here only known as Fenrir. He had been sent here the ravish this world. Mother-earth opened the gates of Paradise and bestowed the wolves on the earth." he spoke, gesturing to the drawings on the walls of his tent. There were wolves on it. "These wolves fought bravely against the evildoer and defeated the great monster. To the ignorant human beasts that remained, wolves taught many things. From part of their own bodies, the wolves created humanity." he continued, sounding like my grandparents when they spoke. I lifted up a bit and blinked in slight shock.

"So… the humans were created by wolves?" Toboe asks the elder, giving him a confused look. "Yes little one. When the world was young like you are now. When the wolves seek out Paradise, the world shall be lost in darkness. But Fenrir was reborn in the body of a black wolf and if he finds Paradise first, then all shall be lost." the elder declares, the demeanor in his voice filled with dread, "However, it would be obscure which will happen first, but either way, the world will cease to be when Paradise is found." I knew that looking for Paradise was nothing but a waste of time. I didn't know whether or not to be surprised by this fact. Frankly, I don't think Tsume is either. He doesn't believe in Paradise either and he's never sugar coated it.

The elder then raises his head to look at us. "Who had begun this search? Was it you?" he says, looking at me. "No. It wasn't me." I answer. He questioned both Hige and Toboe but they both declared that they hadn't started this journey. Tsume didn't answer when the question was directed at him, which is no surprise. We couldn't tell him that it was Kiba who had started this perilous journey. "So you're saying that we should stop looking for it? Are we going to die if we keep searching?" I question. "As to that, no one knows. No matter how nature goes, our path is to simply follow it, young she wolf." the elder replies, shaking his head. I sigh and look down. Something deep down in me felt that it would be true.

Morning came a lot faster than I thought. The sky had turned to a gorgeous crisp blue and the minute I stepped out in the outside, I breathed in the warm air and heard the call of a bird above us. The four of us move to Ihk, who was with his horse. "Ihk?" I said. He turned to face us. "It's time for us to go." Tsume states. "Already?" Ihk questions. We couldn't stay here another day because we had to keep searching for Kiba.

"We're looking for our friend but we can't seem to pick up his scent." Tsume says, making Kiba known to Ihk. I look over my shoulders to look at the mountains behind us. "Do you know what's beyond those mountains, Ihk?" I ask. We had to gather where we were going so we could move on. "A dangerous place. No one treads there." Ihk states, keeping his voice lowered. "So you're telling us it's a place where no one will be able to find, huh?" Tsume asked. At his question, Ihk gazed down at his feet. He wasn't so sure that he should take us there however he did end up taking us over those mountains.

We all come across a steep rock face. "Beyond those mountains is a place only known as Deserts Bones." Ihk informs. "Why call it that?" Toboe curiously asked. I was actually curious too because there must've been a good reason as to why they named it that. "It's because the earth is so parched that it dried up, leaving only sand behind. It's rumored that whoever ventures into it will experience true happiness." he answered. "Who the hell would find happiness in a desert?" Hige moaned. He's not wrong about that one. I wouldn't last a full day because of my thick wolf fur.

"The spirits of this land tell there is a patch of giant grass that has been there for thousands of generations. It guides anyone who lays underneath it to the Garden of Eternity." Ihk says. I look to the indian for a moment. "Could that possibly be Paradise?" I ask. "I don't know. Those who have gone there have never returned." Ihk replies. He then offers to have us stay with his tribe but of course we had to decline. "You see it is our friend who started the journey to Paradise." Tsume informed. At this, he looked down at us with a shocked expression. At this point, we needed to leave and keep finding Kiba. Something was telling me that he was somewhere around here.

Tsume and Hige said their goodbyes before starting to walk ahead. I wasn't far behind them. "Toboe, let's go." I said without looking back. "I'm… not going Luna." Toboe said. That made my heart drop to my stomach. We turn to look at him to see him looking down at his feet. "I… I want to stay here." he said, now looking up at us. My heart dropped...


	20. Chapter 20 Consciously

He can't be serious… he'd rather stay with the humans than be with his own kind. The red wolf looked down at his feet with a stoic gaze. "So… you're going to stay here, huh?" Tsume says, a pang of anger in his voice. Toboe didn't answer. Looks like he was serious about staying with the humans. "So, you don't want to be with us anymore?" I ask sincerely. He nodded at me. Tears started to form in my eyes. They were of anger and hatred. I shouldn't resent him for making this decision. But my core was telling me to hate him.

"There's something about how Ihk and his people live. That's Paradise to me." Toboe declares, still looking down at the ground. I look away from him and cross my arms. "Toboe, is this what you want?" the grey wolf asks. No response. He wants to stay here. We can't force him to change his mind. It wouldn't be fair. "If this is your choice, then it's fine by me. Take care of yourself, Toboe." I say, walking away from him. Tears streamed down my face because of seeing my new little brother leave the pack. Tsume and Hige follow suit behind me.

It was nothing but silence for the next 20 minutes. "Ever since I met that kid, I knew he wanted to be around humans. I'm sure you saw it too, Luna." Tsume said. "Yeah… I felt it too. He's better off being with them than trying to find Paradise. This is what he wants. We just have to accept it." I say, looking ahead with my hands in my pockets. "Didn't you give up on Paradise, Hige? Or are you still willing to come?" I ask, looking back at the tan wolf. He had guilt written all over his face. "You don't have to go if you don't want to for our sakes." Tsume growled. Hige sighs before saying, "So… you guys would go even if I chose to stay?"

"Well, I honestly want to see it for myself. If us wolves are meant to face the end of the world, then I want to be there when it happens." Tsume replies with a smirk on his face. I couldn't agree more to that. "Yeah, and besides we had gotten this far so why not finish it? What have we got to lose?" I add with a smile on my face. It was true. I wanted to finish this journey with the wolves I now see as my new family. There's no better word to describe them now. Our bond with one another had bloomed over the course of our first rocky meeting. "Let's look for him. He has to lead us." Tsume said. Tsume was changing… and so was I. We wanted nothing to do with Paradise and our indifferences suppressed our thoughts about it.

"When did you guys start talking like him? You guys sound just like him." Hige questions. I couldn't help but smirk. It felt good for some reason. We come to the top of the hill and as expected, it was just as Ihk described it. It was nothing but a sandy plain desert with a cracked ground and a grass plant sitting in the middle of it. It was no place that no wolf should live in. "Man, what a wasteland." Hige sighs. He wasn't wrong about that one. We wouldn't last a day here.

Suddenly, a feeling of pure dread overcame me. It got me to look over to the right to see… one of those damn trucks. "It's them!" I shout, my voice tense. It was coming in so fast in our direction. We jump down from that hill and begin to sprint towards the truck. "The way they're coming, it's like they track our movements before we make them!" Tsume snarls while panting. "Meaning, it's pointless to hide!" Hige retorts in a panicked tone. These guys won't give us a break!

 _We charge at them in wolf form. The soldiers turn to see three different colored wolves coming right for them. One as tan as the sand, one as black as the night, and the last one as grey as storm clouds. I bare my wolf fangs at one soldier and leap at them. I sink my wolf fangs into the throat of one soldier. He pushes me off with all his strength and tries to shoot me with his laser gun. I ran in a zigzag pattern to avoid getting shot._

 _Off to my right, I see the wolf form of Tsume doing what I was doing. Hige too avoids the bullets. I stop running with a skid across the warm ground and see that Toboe was coming along with Ihk. Before long, the remaining soldiers fall one by one because of the plant. I close my wolf eyes and shake my wolf head for a moment before catching up with Tsume and Hige._

They stand by the plant and I was shocked as to who was inside it. It was the frail, weakened form of Kiba lying lifelessly in his wolf form. "Kiba… Oh my god." I gasp in shock. I didn't think Kiba would look like this when we found him. "Get back!" Ihk suddenly shouts. He was covering his nose with his arm so he wouldn't smell the scent of the plant. "He's been paralyzed by the poison of the plant!" Ihk says. "He can't be… He can't!" Toboe exclaims in worry. "He's not dead!" Tsume growls. Kiba did look dead from how frail he looked. "Maybe not yet but he will be if we don't pull him out!" Hige started but was interrupted by Ihk walking by him. He picks Kiba up from the plant and puts him on the back of his horse.

"Your friends spirit has been taken. I'm sure the elder can call it back." Ihk said. A part of me was relieved that he wasn't dead. If the elder can bring him back, then what else can we do? "Hurry!" Toboe urges us. At that, we all rush back to the village. We didn't hesitate to bring him to the elder in hopes that he can bring our leader back to us.

We sat around the fire once again with Kiba's frail and weakened body in front of us. The elder started chanting quietly while mixing some of Kiba's wolf fur with powder. After an eternity of this, the white wolf had slowly opened his wolf eye. He looked exhausted and he breathed shallowly. "Kiba?" I say. He didn't respond to me, looking dazed and confused. "Do you remember us?" Hige tentatively asks. Still no answer. What the hell was wrong with him? "Kiba… Kiba!" Toboe cried in distraught.

" _Hey guys… long time no see…" he meekly spoke._ At this, we all sigh in relief. "Do you think this is funny, huh?!" Hige chided annoyingly. "You scared us half to death! Where were you?!" Toboe scolds, raising his voice a little. " _Someplace peaceful… It was like… Paradise."_ Kiba answered, sighing quietly. We all jolt back a bit at that answer. Was he actually there? Or was he just dreaming? "But it wasn't right?" Tsume asked. " _No… they threw me out."_ Kiba sighs, closing his wolf eye slowly. We all gasp at this. "Don't worry. He is resting." the elder assured, getting us to sigh in relief. By how he looked, he did need to rest. We can't rush him on that.

The four of us stay outside under the moon as we waited for Kiba to recover. I sat in between Toboe and Tsume with my legs pulled up to my chest and I looked up at the moon. Things have been pretty hectic today and I couldn't think straight. The moon was red tonight; giving an eerie yet warm feeling. "We should leave once Kiba's back on his feet." Tsume said, breaking the silence. All I did was sigh and look down. "So what're you going to do now, runt?" Hige asks, nudging the pup a little. I turn to look at the pup; who had a look of sadness on his face. He looked to be unsure about keeping the decision of staying here or not.

"Look, no matter how much you run or hide, there's going to be a time when you have no choice but to fight." I tell him. "Whether you like it or not, that's just how it is." Tsume agreed with me. "I know. I know that." he says lowly. I know Toboe. He's a smart kid. I'm sure that he'll get things figured out how to survive out here. I mean, we've gotten this far so why turn back now.

We then hear the sound of rustling of the elders tent from beside us. We look to our left to see Kiba walking out in his human form with his jacket over his shoulders. A short smile appeared on my face because I was honestly glad to see him up and moving again. He walked over to us with the elder at his side. "You okay?" Tsume asked warily. "Yeah." Kiba replies softly yet tiredly, "It felt like I've been dreaming a strange yet wonderful dream for a while." "Was your spirit beheld by the Garden of Eternity?" the elder asked.

"Garden of Eternity?" Kiba questioned. "Did you experience joy and true tranquility unlike you've ever seen?" the elder asks wisely, keeping a soft gaze on Kiba. He nodded in response. "That's enough to satisfy most individuals. They embrace the illusion and don't turn back. For you, it's not enough for you so you returned." the elder explained. Is that what Kiba saw? It wasn't real? Just a simple illusion?

"There's somewhere I have to go, people we need to protect. Someone that I have to find." Kiba said. "Tell me, why're you looking for Paradise?" the elder questioned. "I do it to survive." Kiba answered, looking at the rest of us. "I see." the elder smiles before walking away from us. Kiba looked at us with a tired expression. "So what happened in this garden place?" I asked him. "Nothing except…" Kiba starts off, looking down for a moment, "I met a girl there." My eyes bulge in amazement. There's no way he actually met a girl while he was there.

"You met a girl?! No way!" Hige exclaimed, surprised. Tsume chuckled at this in pure disbelief. "I should've guessed. It would explain why you're less uptight." he chuckled. Toboe's expression turned puzzled for a moment. "What? I don't get it." he murmurs, raising up a bit. "And you won't for a few years." Tsume said, making Toboe cower down. "You would know Tsume. I believe you and Luna are starting to become something. I can feel the tension." Hige teased, getting me to blush deep red. Tsume and I made eye contact for a brief moment before looking away. "Shut the hell up, Porky." Tsume growled. He wasn't wrong about that.

"Man, you and Kiba get all the luck." Hige groaned, making a face to prove it. "Why can't I get it now?" Toboe whined. "You'll understand when you're older." I said with a smile. He wasn't wrong because I think I actually am starting to fall for Tsume. Deep down, I think he's secretly falling for me as well. He's just got a stone way of showing it. "You know, while I was there, the whole time… I felt as though I was feeling something." Kiba speaks, smiling softly. We gaze at the white wolf. "You mean Cheza?" Tsume wonders, smiling a bit. "Not just her. I mean you guys." Kiba answers, "I believed you guys were dead." "You've got to be joking! Do you have any idea how hard we busted our butts to find you?!" Hige chided, clenching his fist. We've looked everywhere for this idiot and he believed we were dead?

"Oh you guys did? Sorry, I didn't know." Kiba said in a joking tone. "Man, when will that get through your thick head?" I said in a sigh. At that, I slowly started to laugh. Then, the others started to laugh along with me. It was the type of laughter that made me feel good on the inside. Wholehearted laughter… After a few lighthearted minutes, our laughter ceased. It felt good to get it out in the open. "Let's go." Kiba said. I needed to stretch my legs so that told me I was ready to move out… with my pack. My new family.

"I…" Toboe stuttered, "I'm not whining anymore. And I'm not running away either." He looked up at Kiba with a determined gaze in his eyes. He wasn't a pup anymore. He seemed like a grown and mature wolf in my eyes. "Wanna bet?" Hige asked. Toboe looked at the tan wolf. "No way." Toboe said with determination. Tsume then playfully punched Toboe in the head. "You guys ready to go? The runt sure is." Tsume asked, shooting the question to Kiba. "Yeah." Kiba replied happily. "Are you, Luna?" Tsume asked. I looked up at him with a grin. "Hell yeah." I answer with a soft nod. I was more than ready to go.

We all move to the edge of the village. The sun was starting to rise in the east; indicating that it was morning. "Is Paradise far from here?" Ihk wondered, following us out of town. "We're not sure. However, we don't have a doubt in our minds that we'll find it." Kiba answered bluntly. "Well, take comfort in knowing that the spirits are with you five." Ihk replied with a smile. I look back at Toboe; he was standing in front of Ihk's horse. "See you… shorty." Kiba said, walking ahead. "Let's go." Tsume said. "Later." Hige said. "C'mon." I add. We all followed Kiba in a steady pace. After a bit, I got word that Toboe is coming with us. It warmed my heart to know that he's not staying behind.

 _We all run in wolf form through a plain with a single canyon. I ran alongside Tsume on his right side. I feel the warm wind flow through my black wolf fur. Just then, there was a distinct howling sound coming from behind us. My wolf ears raised at it. It was Ihk's dog that he had. He was telling us goodbye. I have to admit, I'm going to miss being in that indian village. It was actually kind of nice. Especially if it's got humans that believe in wolves. Now that we've got Kiba back and Toboe back, we sure as hell were a pack again._


	21. Chapter 21 Battles Red Glare

It was snowing once again and it was colder than before. The clouds got darker and darker like a storm was fixing to brew. We put many miles behind us between the here and the indian village. I ran beside Tsume once again with my arms pumping to help me sprint through the terrain. Then, there was a subtle white light shining in the sky for about a few seconds before going back to its original state.

"Hey, did you guys see that flash just now?" Toboe asked over the heavy wind. That made me look up at the sky and another flash of light lit up the dark grey sky. "There it is again!" Toboe exclaimed. Something was definitely up if we're seeing that. "That couldn't have been the sky!" I shout. "Yeah, it's got to be reflecting off the ground!" Tsume agreed. "It smells like it's burning!" Hige panted heavily. He wasn't the only one catching that foul scent that was in the air. We all reach a slope that overlooked a war stricken city. There was black smoke coming from it and noble ships hovered over it.

"That's the stench of battle. All the noble's glory." Kiba informed. Toboe comes up to the white wolf. "Should we leave, Kiba?" he asked. There was no way that we could go around it so we had no choice but to go through it. Without argument, the five of us dart down to the city. We had to fight these nobles.

 _I charge at the nobles in my wolf form with my wolf fangs bared. I bound off a few of the nobles cars swiftly and sink my wolf fangs into the throat on one of them before moving on to the next soldier. Their blood stained my wolf muzzle. We offed about ten more soldiers with our wolf fangs and wolf claws. I then jump with my wolf jaws wide open to indicate that I was ready to kill. Once I got my wolf jaws locked on that soldier, I tightened my grip until he was dead._

I jump from car to car in my human form to catch up with the others. I stood on one car with Tsume as we stared down another human with a hat on his head and a trench coat. "That was much easier than I thought." Hige said proudly. "Don't jinx us, Hige. One of these days, we won't come back to save your ass." I said with a chuckle. That human then pointed a gun at Kiba, whose back was turned towards him. "Don't move!" he commanded. _We all then drop our human forms to reveal to this human that we are wolves. Needless to say, he was shocked that he was seeing five wolves before his eyes._

"Who the hell are you five? What gives you the right to save our skins?" the man demands. We all just stare down at the offended human with a cool stare. "It wasn't intentional. Just our natural instinct." Kiba answered. Tsume, Hige, Toboe, and I jump down to where the human was so that we surrounded him. Hige takes a quick sniff at him; not worrying about the man's that he had in his hand. "Hey, this is one of the humans who was chasing us back in the city where we found Cheza!" Hige exclaims. This catches the attention of Kiba. "You know about Cheza?!" he exclaimed, jumping down to where we were. The man looked rather confused at what we said. "Who're you talking about?" he asks. "C'mon, she's the only girl we know that has pink hair and red eyes. So it's got to be obvious." I said, being specific. At this, it took the man a couple of seconds to realize who we were talking about.

"You're the kids from Darcia's city!" he shouted. Now he's getting it. "Do you know where they took her?" Kiba asks, slightly glaring at the man. He wanted answers out of this human. "No. Wasn't she with you five?" the man wondered. "She was taken by the same soldiers that wore the same armor as these idiots." Tsume answers, slightly kicking the dead soldier beside him. "You mean Jaguara's people?" the man cried out in disbelief. The five of us all nod in response.

It was Jaguara's people who attacked Darcia's keep from what I understand and she had attacked my old pack. Now… I wanted that bitch dead. "It makes sense now… I now understand why she'd want to attack us. Oarkham... Darcia… They'd risk everything to get their hands on the flower maiden." he said, thinking deeply. This info made Hige scoff. "Look buddy, we don't give a crap about the nobles. We just want to know if you've seen Cheza or not." he said, clearly getting irritated with this man's speech. Honestly, I wanted to move this conversation along as well. I really wanted to give this Jaguara bitch a piece of my mind.

"No. I haven't seen her. However, if she is in Jaguara's keep, you'll find it by heading that direction; out beyond the frozen sea." the man said, pointing out to the east. We all looked at each other and gave the go-head. We'd go in that direction to get Cheza back. Just before we went, that human stops us. "Wait, are you five going to fight Jaguara alone?" he asked us. I just gave the human a narrowed stare. It wasn't sugar coated that we'd fight that bitch who took everything from not just us but from other wolves as well. It's what she deserves. "Whether or not I'm alone, I'm always going to protect the ones who need me. No matter what." Kiba spoke wholeheartedly. No one is going to stop us from getting to that bitch and Cheza.

We then take off in the direction of the frozen sea. Surely she had to be in that direction. So we had no choice but to follow it. I gaze up at the sky above us and could've swore that I could see a noble's ship fly above us. Kiba then slows to a stop while looking up. "They're doing it again." Hige groans, grimacing at the flashing lights. "What do we do?" Toboe asks us. "Well, one things for sure, we can't fight the same way like we've been doing." Tsume says logically. "Yeah. We need a new game plan." I suggested. Tsume wasn't wrong. If we had kept fighting the same way every time, it wouldn't end very well. "I know. It's time we head for Jaguara's keep. No more distractions." Kiba says before taking off ahead of us. That's fine with me because I just want this over with. This'll all be over when that bitch is taken care of. I hope…

 _The five of us run in wolf form along the frozen massed tundra under the stormy clouded sky. My yellow wolf eyes were wide opened as I looked straight ahead. It didn't matter if we were seen by the humans. I honestly didn't give a damn about the humans right now. We had to get to Cheza. And nothing was going to stop us this time. At least that's what I thought._


	22. Chapter 22 Pieces of a Shooting Star

_The stars tonight shone bright just like the moon above us. I will admit it's one of the best things that I've ever seen in my life. Plus the air around us had dropped to a cold temperature. It felt good through my black wolf fur. We didn't utter a single word while running. The only sounds that I could hear was the sound of our wolf paws hitting the ground and the wind rushing by us. I ran in between Tsume and Kiba, who were a couple of inches ahead of me._

" _Look! Shooting stars!" Toboe excitedly pants, getting my wolf ears to raise. I take one look up and see a few shooting stars whoosh by us in a blink of an eye. They did look pretty flying through the black sky. Secretly, I was thrilled and happy to see those shooting stars because I haven't seen those since I was a pup. I can't tell how long it's been since… even as an adult she-wolf, I still find them pretty and hopeful to look at. It gave me a warm feeling._

By the time day arrived, we all had arrived at the frozen sea. From as far as the eye could see, no other signs of life were around other than just the five of us. It was freezing by this time. The ice in the sea slowly flowed through the open water. "Is that an ocean?" Toboe asked. "It's an iceflow." Kiba responds. "What is that?" the pup asked again. "A frozen sea." Tsume answers. "This is the sea that that humans were talking about." I add, looking around the flow. Kiba then takes the lead of bouncing down off the cliff. Then it was Tsume, me, Hige, then Toboe. After that, we jumped over a gap in the ice to make it to the other side.

"That's cold!" Toboe yelped from behind us. I gaze behind me to look at the pup. Looked like he accidentally stuck his wolf paw into the icy cold water. "You need to be careful. You do realize that we're on top of water?" Hige scolded annoyed. I shot him an irritated look. "Hige, he's not stupid. I think he knows that." I scold. Hige shot back with an offended look. "She's right! I know we're on water! C'mon!" Toboe exclaimed defiantly. He jumps over the gap and runs right by us while we all looked in disbelief. "What're you four waiting for? Hurry up! This cold air feels amazing!" Toboe shouted. He's way too enthusiastic for being out in below freezing weather. "What the hell's got him so happy? It's freezing!" Hige comments. "He's such a pup." Tsume adds coldly. At least he's happy because I sure as hell aren't. What wolf would like to live out here? Certainly not me.

 _After a bit, we run through the frozen tundra in wolf form. Kiba had taken the lead while Tsume and I took the right. Hige took the left. Toboe wasn't with us but I knew he'd catch up eventually._ Only four of us jump swiftly over a wide ravine. It was no trouble getting over it. I look over my shoulder to see the growing form of Toboe running towards the ravine. He skids to a stop once he reaches the edge. Even though he's quite a distance from us, I could tell he was unsure about jumping to the other side.

"Hey, what are you waiting for? You scared or something?" Hige calls. "I was just getting ready to, okay?" Toboe replied. This confused the dun wolf. Toboe ran back a few feet back to jump over the ravine. The jump he made was a success however his landing needs some work. He ended up falling flat on his face when he made it over. I walk over to him to see if he was okay. He lifted up to his knees and put his hand on his head. Kneeling down, I look over to him with a concerned look. "I'm okay, Luna. Don't worry." he assured. I grinned at this. Then, out of my peripheral vision, I saw something. I turn my eyes to see… a pile of bones.

I picked it up with just two fingers. "What is that?" Toboe asked, seeing what I was holding. "It's possibly a bird bone." I say, inspecting it. Hige then takes the bone from my hand to look at it. Toboe and I look up at the tan wolf. "Hmm… not so much as a scrap of meat on it." he said. I stand back up and stretch my limbs. "Don't worry. We should find something in the next town up ahead." Kiba assured lightly. "Yeah, you're right. The sooner we get the hell out of this frozen waste dump, the sooner we can eat. You still in one piece Toboe?" Tsume agreed, glancing over at the pup.

"Well of course I am! Let's go!" Toboe answered, pounding his chest with a clenched fist. He then stands up and takes off running adjacent to us. Hige sighs and looks up at the sky with defeat. "C'mon birds. Let's see some flying up there." he groaned. He won't starve. I know we'll find food soon. I hope at least. _We run in wolf form again through the tundra. I stuck by Tsume, who was on the left side of me. Hige was on my right. Toboe however… was starting to fall behind again. I turn my wolf head to look back to see him far behind us._

 _The wind seemed to drop completely the more we ran. It was very still. "Shake a leg, runt! You're falling behind!" Hige called, turning his wolf head the other direction. I'm sure that he'll catch up. I took notice how there was absolutely no wind. When I let my wolf ears rise and fall, I didn't hear any. At this rate, we'll make it to Jaguara's in no time. Just thinking about that bitch made my blood boil. I want to kill her with my fangs. She murdered my pack. She needs to pay._

After a while, we make it to a large pit that was filled with nothing more than skeletons. Walrus skeletons. I will admit that it sent shivers down my spine but I kept it to myself. Something told me in my stomach that something bad was going to happen. "Man, this is just a junkyard for bones." Hige says, getting a good look at the pit. "I've got a bad feeling about this." Tsume inquires. "Yeah. So do I. Something doesn't seem right." I agree, feeling a cold shiver run up my spine. "That may be. But we still need to go through it." Kiba said. I cross my arms and roll my eyes. What gave the indication that he'd say that? It was pretty obvious.

"I figured you'd say that." Hige groaned. He didn't like it either. At least we're on the same page. I look to my right to see Toboe standing behind Hige. Something caught my eye as I looked at him. His arm was bleeding from his elbow. "Toboe? What happened to your arm?" I wondered. The red wolf looks down and quickly covered his arm as if he's trying to hide it. He gave a nervous look and tried to brush it off as a scratch. Why would he be trying to hide a cut like that? The scent of wolf's blood will surely draw something.

"Why don't we rest for a while?" Kiba suggested. This only irritated Toboe and he grunted from frustration. He looked off to the side with his eyes shut. "Don't baby me! I'm fine, okay? Let's go! We're burnin' daylight!" he says, running ahead of us. We all look at the red wolf as he ran through the barren ice. He was moving as if this conversation didn't happen. "If he's got this much energy, then he must be okay." Hige said. "I don't know Hige. Something tells me that that blood won't be hidden forever from whatever the hell is out there." I disagreed. "She's right. There's no telling what will attract it." Kiba agreed. "Well, at least whatever it is, we'll be able to eat it." Tsume said optimistically. Just as he said that, the feeling of my stomach growling arose. I blushed from embarrassment. "Looks like I'm not the only one hungry." Hige said, giving me a nudge. I growl at him. "You'd better shut up before you're gonna be on the menu." I sneer. This made Tsume and Kiba chuckle lightly.

The four of us make it through the graveyard of bones. It led us back to the incessant array of ice that lay ahead of us. I look over my right shoulder to see the small form of Toboe fall behind again. I skid across the ice so I could stop. The others also stopped. If Toboe was going to catch up, we had no choice but to stop. I just watch as Toboe manages to catch up. Slowly but surely. We probably should've rested a little bit because he looked half dead.

When he did catch up, he tripped over his own feet and fell face first into the ice. I just sigh at this. Poor kid. "Hey, runt, you good over there?" Hige asked, raising his voice so Toboe could hear him. Toboe mumbled something in response but I couldn't make out what he was saying. There was silence for the next few minutes. He seemed to verklempt on trying to keep up with us.

He then tries to get up but in doing so, a loud rumble causes the ground to shake a bit. Toboe looks from side to side to try to find the source of the noise. He does manage to stand up however another louder reverberation. "What the hell?" Hige whispered. My heart started to pound in my chest. Suddenly, something immense broke through the ice into a thousand shards in front of Toboe.

"What the hell is that?!" I cry, backing up a little bit. Hige gasps loudly at it. Whatever bursted through the ice then drops down onto Toboe with a heavy impact. My heart jumped into my throat at this. "Hige runs to the spot where Toboe was and the red wolf pops his head out of the water with a gasp of air. "Get out of the water!" Hige exclaims, waiting for Toboe. Hige helps him out with his arm over Hige's shoulders.

However, before getting far, they were knocked over by another eruption of the ice. What caused this was nothing more than a walrus that was bigger than most walruses that I've seen in my life. Toboe and Hige looked at it and it didn't take long for it to figure out that we're wolves. _Kiba, I, and Tsume run at the walrus in our wolf forms as it roars ear splittingly. I lunge at the walrus with my wolf fangs bared._

 _I land on it's flipper and dig my wolf fangs into it's skin as deep as I could. My strength against this creature was no match for either of our wolf fangs since we were easily knocked off by the walrus. I ended up flying across the air and_ I landed on my side. The land alone gave me whiplash and it didn't register that the others were still fighting the walrus.

A shrill of pain brings me out of my pain. I look up to see Kiba getting attacked by the walrus. "No!" I yell, quickly getting up and sprinting towards the walrus. _I jump on the walrus again in my wolf and growled loudly. I dig my wolf fangs into its head and start shaking my wolf head back and forth in hopes of doing some damage. Tsume and Hige were also on it in their wolf forms also. I was trying my damndest to hurt it but it didn't seem to do anything._

 _Suddenly, I look up and catch a quick glimpse of Toboe sinking his wolf fangs into walrus's eye. The walrus yells out in great agony and starts leaning back. I didn't know what was causing Toboe to do this but I couldn't do anything but watch as the red wolf unleashed his wrath onto it. We then fall backwards into the water with a loud crash._

 _Tsume, Hige, and I floated to the top._ The air was freezing when I breached the surface and I sucked in a huge breath. Hige and Tsume soon popped out of the water a second after. "Are you three alright?" Kiba asked, running at us. "Yeah. Where's Toboe?" Tsume said, getting out of the water. He turns around and helps me out of the water.

A booming sound came from behind us and we all turn around to see the walrus run through the ice with Toboe hanging off of it's eye. From what I can see, he was determined to hang onto it. That walrus was doing everything it can to get the red wolf off such as leaping through the ice flow and into an iceberg. My stomach dropped heavily at this because Toboe could be getting hurt by this and we can't see it from this far.

Then, they went under the water again and this time, they didn't resurface this time. We stand up and stare off in that direction. Anxiety flourishes through my body and I was worried for Toboe's safety. "That damn kid went crazy." Tsume says in disbelief. "What the hell happened to him?" I say, trying to not choke on my words. I felt my heart hammer against my rib cage.

"This sucks… this really sucks. Why won't he come back up? C'mon, Toboe… TOBOE!" Hige yells, cupping his hands around his mouth. As if on cue, a loud splash came from behind us. We look behind us to see the walrus coming out of the water with large ice cicles sticking out of it and blood cover what was left of it. Toboe was still hanging off its eye and it amazed me how there was not a scratch on him.

The walrus throws him off and he lands on his wolf paws swiftly and he snarled at the walrus with his wolf fangs bared. His wolf tail was also sticking up, looking like he wanted another fight with the walrus. The weakened walrus looks down at him before collapsing onto the ice, a cloud of smoke flying up. He stands in his human form with his fists clenched.

"Toboe!" I yelled, sprinting to him. The others followed suit. "Are you okay?" Hige asks in relief. "I can't believe it." Tsume breathes. "What the hell got into you?" I ask, giving him a concerned look. At this, the red wolf falls to his knees and breathes heavily. "Something… I… Something must've snapped inside of me… all of a sudden." he says. This subtly amazed me because he, in my eyes, was no longer a pup. He fought like a real wolf.

" **You must be joking…"** a low voice gets us to look up, " **Not one have I ever been defeated here. I've been the one to protect it since ages ago after all of my brethren have died off. But in this world, it's kill or be killed. But I will NOT die a victim. I… want… to… save you."** It's large, crimson filled eye opened for a moment before clouding over and the wind blowing, signifying that it died.

Seconds after, Hige's stomach growled. He starts to walk over to it but Kiba stops him from doing so. Kiba leans down and puts a hand on Toboe's shoulder. "He's your kill. You eat first." the white wolf offers. Toboe nods at Kiba with a pleased smile. _We look on at Toboe in our wolf forms as he makes his way to the now dead walrus. He begins to eat it and about 10 seconds after, we start to fill our stomachs._

 _Night time was approaching and we had almost completely devoured the walrus. I had become full and sat on the sidelines. My wolf ears were raised and I looked up at the moon calmly. It was beautiful tonight. "Luna?" Tsume said, getting my wolf ear to twitch. I glance behind me to see the grey wolf standing a couple of feet behind me. The moon gave his smokey grey fur a silvery glow. "What is it, Tsume?" I asked. "We're about to leave." he says. "Okay. I'll be along in a minute." I reply, looking back at the moon._

 _He sits on my right side. "Are you alright? You seem a bit shaken up by what happened today." he wondered, talking to me in a soothing voice. This was surprising coming from him. I glance at him for a moment with a tilted head. "To be honest, I'm not sure. That was crazy how Toboe went ballistic on the walrus. I wonder what really caused him to attack." I reply. "I don't know but he did save our lives." Tsume retorts. We sit there under the moon in silence for a few quaint minutes._

" _Yeah… I guess you're right. With all the times we protected him; he was returning the favor."_ I say, looking back at Toboe, who was still eating. " _Yeah that's true. That runt is not a pup anymore." Tsume chuckles._ _I glance at the grey wolf and saw how his yellowish green eyes glowed under the moonlight. The beating in my heart escalated like the last time. Was what Hige saying about Tsume and I's relationship blossoming true? Was I truly falling for him? And was he falling for me? I can't ask him bluntly._

 _When it hit moonhigh, the five of us move out towards Jaguara's city._

 **After many months of waiting, here it is! I'm finally getting back into finishing this story. So stay tuned for rest of this.**

 **Don't leave any negative comments because they will be removed.**


	23. Chapter 23 Heart of the Black City

_Hours flew by us faster than I could blink. The air around us didn't blow so it felt stagnant. The sky had clouded up a little bit but in the distance I could see a strip of green light that broke through the darkness. When we all got closer, it was clear that this was Jaguara's city. It was domed just like Freeze City's exterior. The light looked to be the power source of the city. Hige ends up finding us a way inside which was surprising because he usually doesn't see the need to take the lead. Toboe enters first through a large pipe._

With the humans inhabiting this city, we had to be in human form. The place looked so huge from the inside. "Wow! It's so warm!" Toboe exclaimed happily. That tunnel had led us to a lower portion of the city so we couldn't be spotted right away. "See? When I'm right I'm soooo right. Right?" Hige says, lifting his head up high. The scent of this area was far worse than I believed it to be. It made my nose crinkle up but I didn't say anything about it.

"Hige, how'd you find this place so easily?" Kiba asks puzzled. Hige looks back for a moment before shrugging. "Can't say for sure. Must be my keen instinct." Hige answers, a smug look on his face. I just rolled my eyes. "Your instincts huh? I'll believe it when I see it." I say, cracking my knuckles. "Look, unlike Kiba, I don't use them as much." he responds, walking by Toboe. "Look how high the ceiling is! Man, this dome is the highest I've ever seen!" Toboe laughs, looking at the ceiling. I turn to Tsume and Kiba.

We had to figure out a plan if we were gonna get Cheza back. "What's the plan you guys?" I ask. "Well, we do know that Cheza's here somewhere in this keep." Kiba responds. Hige comes back over to us while rubbing the back of his neck. "Well, if that's the idea then we need to go in that direction." he points out. I gaze back at him in perplexion. How the hell does he know that? Had he been here before?

Just before anyone could ask, the sound of Hige's stomach growls. My eyes roll in annoyance. "Didn't we eat not too long ago? You're like a bottomless pit." I say, putting my hands in my pockets. He nervously chuckles at that because he got caught. "Eh… how about this? Let's break up into teams! You three find a way and the runt and I will scope out the joint. K?" Hige suggests. "Don't you mean scope out the food?" Tsume growled, taking a step forward. Hige holds up his hands as if to surrender.

"Don't worry. We'll bring just enough for everybody." he announced. I scoff at this because I highly doubt he'd actually do that. He might do it again. "Yep, leave it to us!" Toboe agreed, pounding his chest with a fist. "And that will give you and Luna some more quality time." Hige teased. I blushed a deep red and tried to cover it up. "Shut the hell up porky." Tsume growled.

"Never mind that, that would work since we'd be less conspicuous if we split up." I say, changing the subject. Kiba nods at the idea. We didn't want to humans to get suspicious that 5 wolves had entered the city. "Alright. The three of us will check out the area around the keep." he says. "It's a plan! Let's meet back here at moon high!" Hige replies, giving us a thumbs up. He then runs in the other direction. "Hige wait up!" Toboe calls, going after him.

(Blue & Cher)

Blue holds a helpless man up against a wall by his neck. Her and Cher were getting the man's ID tags in order to blend in with the rest of the city. Especially Blue. "What the hell is this? You bitches tricked me!" he grunts. Blue gives him a wolfish grin. "Do you want to get slapped again?" she calmly asks. "Okay! Here! Take them!" the man said, giving them the ID tags. Blue gives one to Cher but didn't let the man go. "Hm, if you had cooperated nice and easy, you wouldn't be covered in bruises now would you?" Blue chuckled, letting the guy go.

Cher then approached the man with a smile. "Flowers have thorns. Try to remember that." she says, poking the man's bruised face. The wolf dog and woman walk side by side with their tags. They felt proud of the fact they just robbed a human of his tags.

(Hige & Toboe)

"Wait up Hige!" Toboe calls, catching up with Hige. "And just up ahead there's an elevator and past that…" Hige murmurs to himself, seeming distracted by something. And just like he said, there was an elevator in a back alley that looked to be out of use. "I don't believe it!" Toboe exclaimed, amazed. The two wolves get on the elevator and Hige presses a button to send them up. "This should get us where we need to go." Hige says, looking up. "I don't know Hige, maybe we should go back. They might be waiting for us." Toboe says, feeling uneasy about this.

"Calm down, will ya? We'll be fine. You'll see. Let's see what this place has got." Hige says, brushing it off. Hige was totally cool about all of this but Toboe wasn't and he wasn't concealing it either. Something was off about this place that Toboe didn't like. It felt strange. "Hige, you knew about this. Have you been here before?" Toboe asked, catching with Hige. The two walked down the street inconspicuously.

:Nope. But when you're instincts are as good as mine are, you get a feel for things." Hige replied coolly. The wolves didn't realize that they were being watched by a secret camera that was sitting in the back of the alleyway. It was watching their every move.

They wandered down a desolate street and keep their eyes forward. The various humans were looking at the two while talking. "Man, this place is huge! It's got plenty of food and water that should be easy for us to find." Toboe said, looking around the surrounding area. There was more than enough for the pack to have to satisfy everyone's hunger. Even if Luna doesn't exactly enjoy having to hear Hige's stomach growling every five minutes.

"After turning the corner up ahead, there's a big stairway that leads up." Hige mumbles. This was starting to worry Toboe. Just as he said, there was in fact a long stairway after they turned a corner. "Whoa, it's really here." Hige quietly said. Toboe was surprised at this. Toboe wondered why Hige knew where everything is despite them never being here before.

Then suddenly, two boys on skateboards flew down the stairs; nearly running the two wolves over. "You dumbasses! Watch where you're going!" Hige chides, waving his fist at them. But they only got laughed at by one of the boys. "Looks like there's others like Tsume too." Toboe whispered, blinking.

(Luna, Tsume, Kiba)

The three of us bounced swiftly to an upper level of a building. We had a much better view of the entrance to the keep. But there was a problem; the soldiers were blocking it so we couldn't get in there so easily. "Well, front's blocked. Any ideas?" I ask, giving them a side glance. "Well, going through the front is suicidal." Tsume says. Kiba and I look at him. "Not that it scares me, just seems futile." Tsume said, giving us a sly grin. That made me blush deep red.

"Wry man's words. You two want to find a back door?" Kiba asks. "If you insist." the grey wolf says. "Of course, don't think anyone's guarding anything back there. We should ask around." I say, shrugging my shoulders. The two nod at me and we left the area in a sprint.

(Hige and Toboe)

The two wolves walk casually down the scentless city once out of the alleyway. The city was the most immaculate they've ever seen. Toboe felt shivers run up his spine. "Wonder why there's no scent in this place." Toboe asks, looking behind him. "Don't know. That Jaguara lady is probably a clean freak." Hige shrugs, picking up the place. He suddenly stops and puts a hand to his forehead, it started to pound incessantly.

"What's the matter?" Toboe asks in concern. "My head pounds whenever I try to think…" Hige whispered. "Maybe the strain hasn't got to you yet." Toboe optimistically says. Something was wrong with Hige so he says, "Hige, tell me what's wrong." "Agh, nothing's wrong okay?" Hige argued, growing agitated. He seemed to be on edge by the sounds of it. "But you've been acting weird since we got here." Toboe says. "Get the hell away from me!" Hige snaps, twisting his angry face at the young wolf. He then takes off running.

Toboe waits a second before chasing after him. In catching up with him, he sees Hige standing in front of a statue that resembled Lady Jaguara. Hige feels the immense pain in his head graduate, causing him to grab onto it with both hands while screaming. It was as if the whole world around him was crashing down onto his very being. He takes off running into the woods in sheer panic with Toboe behind him in hot pursuit.

Then, there was a road. Hige leaps across it without looking. Toboe comes to it but is stopped by a truck. He was left standing there without Hige anywhere in sight. "Hige… HIGE!" Toboe cries out but receives no answer back. Hige was gone…

(Luna, Tsume, Kiba)

We spent the next half hour running into absolutely nothing. But there was a desolate alleyway that we found ourselves in. The sound of a door slamming from another part of the alleyway catches all of our attention. "THIEF!" someone shouts and two human boys run by us with sacks in their arms. Seeing this only makes me chuckle. "Remind you of anyone?" Kiba smiled. I looked up at the grey wolf with a confident smile on my face. "Looks like you're not the only one to steal just to survive. Wonder what happened to that certain someone?" I say, giving Tsume a nudge. Tsume looks at me with a genuine smile.

"He's not the same guy he once was. But guys like them know the back alley better than anyone I've ever known." Tsume admits. Oh, I believe that he's still there. I'm sure of it. And with that, we chase after the boys. Tsume decided to get a better angle on them and I decided to join him. We jump down directly in front of them, getting them to jump.

"Whoa, what do you two want?!" the boy with the hat asked. "We just want to ask you something." Tsume said calmly. "Keep walking buddy. I'm not doing any handouts. Get your own food." the boy scoffs, holding the sack close to him. "C'mon, we'll leave once we get the answer we're looking for." I say. The boy's look at me and the expression he had on his face made me a bit uncomfortable.

"Hello, there. You're really fine, you know that? Why not come with us for a while?" the same boy says. Hearing that made Tsume go into protective mode. "Touch her and you'll regret it." he threatens. Obviously these humans don't get what fear I was feeling last time that happened. That boy laughed at Tsume's threat and tried taking a swing at him. We were able to dodge that rather easily. I use my body weight to push the boy into the wall with a hard impact. Tsume glances down at the boy, who was sweating.

I gasp when I see him pull out a pistol from his coat pocket. He then starts to fire the gun at us with multiple shots. It went through the bag of food that they carried. Kiba uses his foot to kick the gun out of the boy's hand. When Kiba lands on the other side of them, he slowly turns and gives them a narrowed look. "You guys are so cool!" the chubbier boy said. Us wolves showed them who's boss.

The two boys lean on the wall and they faced us. "Okay, I'll give. Where are you three from?" the first boy asked. "Oh we're from wherever." I answered confidently. "Boy don't we know it. Verbal and I have been from every city you can think of ever since the fat hit the fire. Word is that this is the best and we decided to check it out." the boy with the hat said, looking over to his friend. So these two humans have been on the move like we have been? But it was for different reasons.

"We were wondering if you two know a way into the keep?" Tsume asks them. They looked as if they had misunderstood him. "In there? You don't seriously mean Jaguara's keep?" the first boy asks. The three of us nod. Both boys look at us as though we were juvenile delinquents. "Whatever your reasons for going there, you might as well forget it! There's no way you three will be able to get in there." the first boy says. This Jaguara lady wasn't going to stop us from going in there. We still needed to get Cheza; especially for Kiba's sake.

"Look, we need to get in there because they have someone of ours." Kiba says to them. "You want to steal them back from that noble? You three must take me as a sucker." the boy says. "We're dead serious. We're going in there." I reply, my voice cool. "Wah?! That's suicide! You can't be messing around with nobles like Jaguara! Word on the street is that she's some witch that casts some wacky spells!" the boy exclaims while doing hand motions. I kneel down to their level with my arms resting on them and I look at them dead in the eyes.

"Look, we don't care about whatever she's doing in this matter. We came here for one thing only and nothing more. Can you show us a way in or not?" I say in a serious tone. The boys were wide eyed by my instant response. "Okay, we'll take you three to a back door but you three are asking for loads of trouble. But I don't give a damn." the first boy says. Satisfied with that answer, I stand up with a grin. "That'll be enough. Once we're in, the three of us can handle the rest from then on." Kiba replies. Both boys blink at us in amazement.

"Damn, you guys are cool." the first boy replies. We got those human boys to fall under our command for right now. They lead us to a tremendous ditch like area that was filled with an immense amount of cables and pipes. Looking at it, my strength felt as though it was starting to deplete. Kiba and Tsume felt this too. I can't explain it. "This is the place. No one has ever followed it the whole way before. But the cable runs through the keep itself. With much luck, you guys should get in easily." the first by says. Tsume, Kiba, and I walk ahead of the boys.

"Tsume, Kiba, tell me I'm not the only one feeling that?" I whisper to them. "No, you're not." Tsume replies. "Yeah, it's like the contradiction of basking in the moonlight." Kiba says. "Yeah, it's getting worse by the second." I whisper, looking off to the right. Now that we have found a way in, we can go without the human boys following us.

"You know, Hige and Toboe might wonder where we're at." Kiba says. "Whoa, do you really want to go back now?" I say, glancing at the white wolf. "I agree with Luna, do you want to give up so easily?" Tsume says with a slight chuckle. Kiba was left unable to answer those questions. Also since when did Tsume start to agree with what I had to say? Although I won't complain about it.

"Let's keep going then. They can catch up with us. It shouldn't be too hard." Tsume stated. "I agree. We just need to have faith in them." I beam, looking ahead. The two wolves were shocked by my words. And with that, we all jump down to the pipes swiftly. And in jumping down, I swore I could hear the other boy say, "Good luck wolves. You can do it." How did he know we are wolves?

(Hige)

During all of this, a staggering Hige was leaning up against the wall while holding his aching head. It only seemed to grow worse and worse with each passing second. "Damn it! What the hell is…" he groaned, almost on the verge of tears. Suddenly the sound of a gun cocking behind him makes him gasp. He jerks his attention towards them with wide eyes. He makes a run for it but ends up getting blasted by the pulse gun and it ends up sending him over a ledge with a scream.

Once over it, the tan wolf crawls away from them in an attempt to get away from them. But he comes to a dead end. Those same soldiers were coming towards him with their guns partially raised. The pain in his head suddenly strikes again, causing him to shout in pain and fall to the ground on his side. His visions started to get cloudy and blurry. The soldiers were in front of him. He was sure that they were going to kill him.

One soldier kneels down and inspects his collar. "Number 23 huh? Doesn't look like he's with anyone else. Let's go." he said, getting up. To Hige's surprise, the soldiers left him there. He pushes himself up in a confused manner. "What…? Why did they spare me?" he says to himself, his breaths labored. Seconds after, the pain struck him again and he cringed in pain. It was hurting like hell on earth.


	24. Chapter 24 Scent of a Trap

(Hige)

What seemed to be miles away from the other four wolves, Hige stumbles upon a dark alleyway. He used the narrow walls to support him. The pain in his head struck him again, causing him to groan loudly. "Damn it! What the hell is wrong with me?" he moaned, holding his head. From his peripheral vision, a camera was there. Looking at it made his vision split into two. When it was clear, he realized in absolute horror as to what kind of camera it was. It was a security camera.

He starts to sprint in fear from it. But with every corner, there was a camera. A naked eye watching his every given move. He couldn't take it anymore and he howls loudly into the air that was filled with distress that echoed through the city.

(Luna, Tsume, and Kiba)

The three of us were walking down the keep casually. Luckily, there were no soldiers around to catch us. To think that their ignorance got the better of them. However, that thought alone didn't settle me completely. The atmosphere unsettled me and I shivered. The only audible noise was our loud, echoey footsteps. I wasn't the only one who was scared by this.

"Look, I know we've been to places like this before but…" Tsume says, breaking the awkward silence. Kiba looks at us with furrowed eyebrows. "But what?" he questioned. "It's just that… we've never felt such danger lingering in the air before. It's quite unsettling." I say, rubbing my arms. A chuckle comes from the white wolf. "What?" Tsume says, looking at him. "That's new. I never thought I'd ever hear either of you complain like this." Kiba cooly states. I glance away from him. "Well, it's natural under the circumstances." Tsume replies. "And Luna, if you're getting uncomfortable, you can always go back." Kiba says. I jerked my head towards him.

"Hell no. I'm not leaving all the fun to you two." I argue. Tsume grinned at my spunk. We continued onwards for another couple of minutes. Then, the scent of flowers hit my nose. I sniffed the air. "Do you guys smell that?" I ask. "Yeah." Tsume answers, also sniffing the air. Suddenly, we saw that Kiba was nowhere to be seen. "Tsume?! Where's Kiba?" I ask, looking around. "I don't know! I think we're separated." Tsume answers, looking at a giant wall.

"Shit… That's not good." I say. "Well, there's nothing we can do about it right now. But, we're going to the same place." Tsume replies, walking passed me. I walk with him on his right side. _We both walk in our wolf forms down in this corridor. "But one thing's for sure. There's flower's up ahead." I say, lifting my wolf nose up a little. Tsume agrees with me._

(Toboe)

The red wolf had jumped onto a high ledge that looked over the cleansed city. It was hard for him to get a good vantage point from that height. "Even from here, I can't see anything." he sighs before going to another area. On another ledge, he sees that the wolf hunter was sitting on a bench on a sidewalk. His tactics worked. "Wow, he actually made it! That's awesome! Luna will be happy to hear that!" he says to himself happily.

But the wolf hunter wasn't at all happy to see him. He gradually pulls out his rifle and aims it at the young wolf, getting his eyes to widen. He gasps with shock for a brief moment. His gaze then softens and he smiles. Despite the many occasions he tried to shoot him, he didn't hate him for it. He didn't want to nevertheless.

He makes a run for it. "Hold it!" Quent shouts, chasing after him. He goes up a flight of stairs but ends up missing him. The red wolf was nowhere to be seen yet again.

(Blue)

Blue and Cher wander through the streets a couple of hours after taking the tags off that guy. They had talked things over about the relationship with the other wolves and the relationship with Cheza. The connection with the flower was just as immense as the other wolves. Blue couldn't shake it off.

They come face to face with a dead end. "Jeez, another dead end! What is wrong with this place?" Cher moans in frustration. Then, the sounds of metal feet came from behind them, getting the girls to turn around. "Excuse me misses? You two lost?" a soldier asks. "No. We're not." Cher responds frostily. The soldier wondered where they came from.

"I'm sorry?" Cher said, getting anxious. "Oh come on. There's no need to hide it." the second soldier asks, taking a couple of steps towards them. "If both of you got ID's then we'll leave you be." the first soldier said, "If you're not from Freeze City that is."

Blue's eyes narrow. "We're from a town called Kurios." she tells them. The soldiers exchange equal glances. "Kurios, huh? It's strange you come from there because that place got torched to the ground many years ago." the first soldier says. Blue narrows her eyes further. "Yeah, it was the first village that we burned down. There was a pack of wolves hiding in it and it was our job to kill every single one of them." the second soldier says, smiling proudly the whole time.

The first soldier stood over Blue. "Man, that was a beautiful fire… We burned every single inch of it until there was nothing left of it." he whispered. Blue felt as though her whole world had shattered right before her very eyes. The whole time she believed it was her own kind that was responsible for the burning of Kurios. But… it wasn't. The wolves had nothing to do with it.

Her eyes squinted in anger and rage. Her fist clenched into a tight ball as she upper cutted the soldier so that he flew several feet from them. The second soldier tried attacking but was unable to due to Blue using her leg to knee him in the jaw, knocking him over onto his back.

The soldier she punched lifted up a bit and put his visor on. Only he didn't see a black haired woman with deep blue eyes. _It was a dark blue wolf dog with eyes of the same color. Her wolf dog tail sticking up, ears pricked up, and wolf fangs bared._ "Hey, she's a wolf!" he calls out. The second soldier tries to shoot her but was stopped by Cher who grabs the gun.

It gave Blue enough time to make her escape of the soldiers. She looks back at Cher once more before bounding off towards the other direction.

(Hige & Blue)

The energy started to wane weaker and weaker from Hige's body. He grabs his collar in desperation, causing him to snap into realization. Soon, all his strength fades away and he slides down to the floor.

After that encounter with those soldiers, the truth of the death of her village swam through Blue's mind. All this time she had believed it was the wolves. But it was far off. "Wolves didn't do it, Pops… It wasn't them." she says to herself, tears in her eyes. Walking by an alley, a tired moan made her stop walking. Her eyes trail towards where the sound was coming from. It had come from a fallen Hige who was on the floor.

"Hige? Is that you?" she asks in a gasp. Hige opens his eyes and sees the wolf dog there. "B-Blue?" he groaned. She sighs in relief and runs to his aid. She kneels down next to him. "Are you alright? Did someone hurt you, Hige?" she asks in concern. Hige pushes himself up to a sitting position with a tired groan. "I'm glad you made it out of there in one piece…" he mumbled, sitting against the wall. Worried for Hige, she sits next to him and stays close to him.

"You know, I knew we'd meet again some time but I didn't believe it'd be in the back alley's of this awful place. The only thing I could ever ask for now is to find Pops. I can tell him so much now!" she said with excitement.

"I can tell him that it was soldiers who destroyed our home. Wolves didn't have anything to do with it. It was never them…" she said, tears welling up in her eyes. She buried her face in her knees. Hige smiles weakly at this. "Hey Blue… Why don't we just… forget this place?" he asks her. She looked up at him as she wiped her eyes. "We can't stay here forever." he tells her, standing up as if nothing happened.

"Wait, what about Kiba and the others?" Blue wonders, standing also. At the very mention of them, he got agitated and his whole demeanor changed like a light switch. "I DON'T CARE!" he shouts, grabbing Blue by her wrist. He pulls her away from the alleyway in a sprint. "Wait! Hige, what's wrong with you?!" she cried. Hige was back in his panicked mental state. He needed to get away from there. Anywhere that he couldn't be watched.

However, there were cameras everywhere they turned. "Hige! What happened?!" Blue exclaimed, pulling out of his grasp as they make it into a street. Looking at the camera, he cries in sheer panic while grabbing his head. "They're watching me! I just know it! They're always watching!" he shrieked, bolts of sweat trailing down his head. He knows exactly who was watching him from the other side of that camera and it chilled him to the core.

"Hige… you're scaring me." Blue whispers to him, getting antsy by his sudden change. He grabs her hand again and tows her behind him again. "We need to get out of here!" he shouted.

The two wolves were still running and Hige was losing his breath. Blue was starting to get irritated. "Hige! Stop, would you?!" Blue yells but Hige refused to stop. "We need to get out of here fast!" Hige yelled in panic. "Where are we going?!" she cried. "It doesn't matter where! We shouldn't have ever come here!" Hige yowled. A few alleyways later, Blue decided enough was enough with this and she stops running. "Hige! Stop it would you?!" she yelled, pulling her arm out of his iron grip. "We need to get Cheza and everyone else! Why leave them behind like this?"

The tan wolf looks at her with frightened eyes and each breath was shaky. "It's too late for that! It's over… for them." he said, his voice drowning out into a whisper. Blue blinks at him worriedly. "It's my fault! I brought them here! It's all my fault!" he cries out, grabbing his head. "Hige…" Blue says. Then, the two heard a howl of distress not far ahead of them

They look up towards the sound. "It's Toboe!" Blue exclaimed. Both wolves follow the howl and they leap on a ledge. They find Toboe in his wolf form. He had been taken down by the same soldiers that Hige saw earlier. "Toboe, no!" he cries out, getting the soldier's attention.

(Luna and Tsume)

Tsume and I make it through corridor after corridor in silence. We weren't going in circles that I was sure of. We did come up to a narrow chamber. Neither of us talked while talking therefore the only sound was our echoing footsteps. I felt nervous and scared at the same time. Normally, I wouldn't ever feel like this but I couldn't shake it off.

"Maybe there's something in here." Tsume quietly says, coming to a set of french doors. I look over at him. We both open a door each and found it to be dark as hell in there. It looked as if there was a storage room. At first, I didn't see anything. However, I was proved wrong when I saw a tall glass tanks in the room.

I swore I felt my blood turned to ice when I saw exactly what was being held within those containers. It was wolves… Stuffed and mounted into trophies… I saw that they were wearing the same collar that Hige wears. "Tsume… are you seeing this?" I say, feeling a lump in my throat.

"Yeah… What the hell is this?" he asked in horror. "Oh god… I think I'm gonna be…" I begin, looking around. My eyes were now locked on two of the tanks.

"What the…?" I breath, walking to it. The wolves in the tanks were a light grey wolf and a black wolf. My heart shattered into pieces when I realized who they were. "Mom… Dad…" I say, my eyes filling with tears. My father was stuffed into a position like he was howling. My mother was stuffed in a position to where she was looking at me. I tried not to cry in front of Tsume but my emotions failed me horribly.

I fell to my knees as I hit the glass of the tanks. Tsume catches up with me. "Luna what is-?" he starts but sees what was upsetting me. Suddenly, a large metal cage drops down on top of us. We too were captured.

(Kiba)

 _Kiba had finished off soldiers that worked under the reign of Jaguara. The white wolf had quenched his thirst for blood. He could get back to focusing on finding Cheza. Though he was given many cuts on his wolf body, that didn't stop him from moving. "Cheza… I'm coming." he strained. He could sense that she was close. Very close._


	25. Chapter 25 False Memories

(Hige)

Hige stops running with Blue behind him, who was now getting tired of all the incessant running. "Hige!" she exclaimed. "DON'T FOLLOW ME!" he snapped at her, getting her to back up a bit. It was only a minute before the tan wolf begins to maniacally laugh at seemingly nothing. This worried Blue. She wondered why he was acting like this.

The same striking pain punctures Hige once again. Only this time it was so strong that it made him fall to the ground unconscious. Blue runs to his aid and shakes him by the shoulders. He was limp. "Hige? What's going on? Are you okay?" she asks, shaking him. But he didn't respond to her.

"Hige, stop playing around. Please wake up! Toboe needs our help! Hige!" she cries frantically. He still didn't respond. Panic starts to set within her. Why wasn't he responding to her? What was wrong with him? She pulls him into her lap while holding onto his hoodie. "No… C'mon, you need to wake up! Don't you dare do this! Don't you die on me! Please… no…" she sobbed, pulling him into her arms.

His eyes slowly fluttered open and he moaned softly. Blue pulls him back to look at him. "Hey Blue… Can you do me a favor? My collar…" he weakly asks, gazing up at her. "What?" she blinked. "Take my collar off me. I don't need it anymore." he says. Blue looks down at his collar. It was the collar that was controlling his memories. It was hurting him.

 _Blue dug her wolf fangs into the leather of his collar and tries to pull it off. However, the material was too thick for her to rip it off. She lets go and pants heavily._ "It's fine. Leave it." Hige quietly says, his body slumped over. "No! If this what's hurting you, then I have to get it off-" Blue says but the touch of Hige's palm on her left cheek stopped her.

"You know… you're a great woman." he grins at her. "Don't talk crazy on me now!" she retaliates. Hige glances downwards with sorrow written all over his face. "I've been so damn blind… Much of it I never understood. It's funny you know. All of my memories… It was nothing more than a damn lie…" he said, closing his eyes. What could he possibly gain by trying to hide the truth from himself? There wasn't anything to gain. All of those memories he's suffered with were blatant lies.

Suddenly, their moment of forlorn was interrupted by beeping sounds coming from a monitor as they started to approach them. Blue sees them and doesn't hesitate to _charge at them in her wolf dog form. She lunges at them with her wolf fangs bared; grabbing the gun and knocking the soldier over._ The second soldier makes a shot at her and ends up scrapping her left arm.

"Blue!" Hige cries, eyes widened. He jumps up to his feet and quickly grabs her. His collar was shot off his neck when the soldiers were shooting at them. But the two wolves had bolted out of there before they were followed.

(Luna, Tsume, and Toboe)

I was sitting down against the wall of our cell and hear Tsume using his body to ram into the cell door. The thought of seeing my parents in those tanks stuffed like trophies ultimately broke me into pieces. I realized how vile this noble actually was. Not only has she killed her own wolves but she had killed mine…

"Stop that. You'll only hurt yourself more. The others have tried that." an old she wolf said. I didn't look at her though. The images of my parents stuffed bodies were all over my mind. I could barely think.

"Luna. My dear is that really you?" a familiar voice brought me out of my sorrows. I look over to my right and wipe my eyes with the heels of my hands. "Huh? Who's there?" I sniffle. "Luna, it's grandma Mahika…" the voice said again. I look over and quickly run to the cage door. Across from me was… my grandma. Tears filled up in my eyes. "How? I thought…" I cried, wanting to hug her so badly.

"No my dear. Not all of us were killed by that witch Jaguara. I too made an escape. For a long time I believed you were dead like the others." she spoke. Hearing my grandma speak again was hard because I was close to her as a pup. Seeing her now in these cells was the last thing that I expected.

"I missed you so much…" I say to her, tears streaming down my face. "I missed you too dear. You are all grown up. Just as strong as your parents." she says, inspecting me. The tears were flowing down my face. It hurt to talk about them. "What's wrong, Luna? Did something happen?" she asks me. "They're… They're…" I stutter, trying my damndest not to cry.

Out of my surprise, Tsume picks me up and brings me into a comforting hug. I didn't tense up or anything. I just… let it happen. "They're stuffed and mounted like damn trophies. Much like the other wolves Jaguara is keeping." Tsume finished for me. "Oh… Oh my… Are you sure?" Grandma asks, her voice changed to sadness. "Yes." Tsume said. I pull back from Tsume.

Grandma was silently crying with her eyes shut. She felt the same pain I was feeling at this moment in time. We then all fell silent. Tsume and I soon learned that Hige's old pack he used to run with had been ordered to kill the other elder wolf's pack. She had been the only survivor. It only angered me more that Hige was ordered to kill his own kind. How could he do this to them? They were given a place to stay and given food.

Just then, the doors open. Grandma and the other elder wolf gasp. "Let go! Let go of me!" Toboe's voice squeaks. Tsume and I snap up and ran to the door. "Toboe!" Tsume yelled. I see he's being carried by one of those soldiers. "Toboe, thank god!" I cry. "Luna! Tsume! I said, let go!" Toboe grunts, struggling against the soldiers. The soldier stops in front of the cage adjacent to Tsume and I's.

It opens and the soldier throws Toboe there. Toboe grunts loudly at the impact of the floor. Once the cage closes, the soldier goes to the cages of Grandma and the other elder wolf. "No! Don't touch her!" I yell, seeing what they were about to do. The soldiers ignore me. They raised their guns and shot both of them. "No! You bastards!" I yelled, my voice filled with sorrow and anger. Through my tear filled eyes, I see dragging the bodies of my grandmother and the other elder wolf out of the cells.

She was dead… The last wolf of my family was gone. I close my eyes and hug Tsume; to which he hugs me back. "Wait a minute… those women… they were wolves?" another voice said in disbelief. After a bit of grieving, I pull away from Tsume. We go back to the bars and I wrap my fingers around the bars. "Tsume, Luna…" the red wolf whispered. We look at Toboe and notice how Hige wasn't with him.

"Where's Hige?" Tsume asks in slight panic. "I don't know! We got split up! Where's Kiba?! Wasn't he with you guys?" Toboe stuttered, swallowing hard. I look away for a moment. "He's got to be somewhere in this keep." I answer, lowering my voice. If he's smart enough, he'll find his way around to where we're at.

"Do you guys think he's…" Toboe squeaks, starting to worry. "If something had happened I'm sure we would've felt it. _Kiba's alive… he has to be." Tsume said. We all stand in wolf form. My wolf ears were air planned and my muzzle was pointed at the ground. "What do we do? What'll happen to us? We won't be able to save Cheza either." Toboe whimpers._ " _I don't know. But it won't matter if we don't get out of here." Tsume growled, lifting his wolf head. He sounded frustrated by the sound in his voice._

"But how Tsume? We're gonna die like those two old wolves did! We won't see the others again…" Toboe said, his voice breaking. I close my eyes and exhale sharply by that statement. "Don't whine, runt." Tsume said. "We won't make it to Paradise either!" Toboe said in desperation. "Don't say that Toboe. If I know my grandmother, she'd want me to carry on with my pack. She wouldn't want me to die in this god awful place. We'll be damned if we let it end like this." I say mostly out of anger. I wanted to get out of here just as much as them.

"Excuse me, are you three wolves?" that same voice asked. We look ahead to who made that voice. I recognized that human. It was the husband of his female counterpart. Why was he here? "You are, aren't you?" he asks again. "So what? Who the hell are you?" Tsume said, giving the human a distrustful glance. "Wait, you were with your wife. Why are you here?" I say, holding onto the bars. "Like you three, we got separated. And as for Cheza, we were brought in together." the human says. All of us jump fully awake at this.

"However, I don't know where she is in here though." the human said calmly. My body began to shake. Cheza was really here. "We gotta get out of here now!" Toboe cried. We all then proceed to use our shoulders to slam into the bars as hard as we could. We needed to get the hell out of here and get to Cheza. Honestly, I don't want to know what Cheza was going through now that she was in the hands of that bitch.

(Kiba)

At that moment, the white wolf arrived to a set of french doors. He pushed the doors open and the first thing he laid his eyes on was none other than Cheza in a giant orb with green sparkling liquid in it. "Cheza! Are you alright?!" he cried out, running to the orb. Tears filled his eyes as he looked as her sleeping form. "I finally found you…" he whispered, placing his hand on the cold orb. "Why won't you answer me?!" he cried, his desperation tipping over.

" **The white wolf…"** the voice of Jaguara pulls his gaze from Cheza. _He stands in his wolf form with his hackles raised. "_ **You are the wolf chosen by the flower… how beautiful you are."** _she spoke in a voice that simply oozed poison. Kiba snarled at her with his wolf fangs bared. He tried lunging at her in an attempt to attack her. But it was put to a sudden stop when she used her powers to stop him. There was a bright green ring that was much stronger than he was. It pulled him down to the ground like he was being strapped down._

The noble walked passed the white wolf and to Cheza. " **Cheza… open your eyes for my Paradise…"** the noble said, getting her eyes to open wide. _Then, the sound of glass cracking made Kiba's wolf eyes widen. The water from the orb touched his white fur and he growled lowly because he couldn't get to Cheza no matter how hard he tried to._

" **My prayers have been answered. Cheza, we must celebrate with a feast, don't you think?"** Jaguara gleefully says. Cheza only hung by the restraints on her arms.

Hours later, the noble had taken the chosen wolf to another room where their alleged Paradise would finally be open. She had him strapped down to a table over a strange crucible with tubes penetrating his wolf body. They were planning to suck the blood from him so they can open their Paradise. As of now, she was getting prepared for the feast.

" **The preparations are complete. Tell me… am I not beautiful?"** the noble speaks, placing her lipstick on the table and kissing at the mirror. "Of course you are, my lady." her servant replies, bowing to her. " **For the final right, we will stoke the Moonlight Crucible with the white wolf's blood."** she says. Her servant bows and walks away.

 _As he wakes up, Kiba feels his whole body heavy and numb. He keeps his wolf eyes shut and asked for only one thing. "Cheza… please… sing for me." Just then, the sweet sound of Cheza's voice was echoing in not only his wolf ears. He opened his gold eyes slightly._

(Luna, Tsume, Toboe)

During our attempts to escape, there was a familiar sound lingering in the air. I stop slamming my body against the bars to listen. Gasping I say, "Guys stop! Listen… Am I not the only one hearing it?" Toboe and Tsume also stop to listen. "No… I hear it too." Tsume said. "It's Cheza's song!" Toboe cried out. The sound of her voice was… sad… Tears started to form in my eyes.

"Why is she crying…?" Tsume asked, listening keenly. "It's so sad…" Toboe sadly replies, looking down. "Cheza… No…" I say, my voice shaky. "Are you guys hearing Cheza's voice?" the human asks. Suddenly, I feel my whole body shaking vigorously. I wasn't shaking because of feeling scared. I was shaking with fury and rage. Tsume and Toboe were also shaking in the same manner.

With determination, I used all of my strength to slam into the damn bars. Tsume and Toboe joined me. We had to get Cheza back… We just had too.

(Hige, Blue)

Hige and Blue make it to the keep; unknowing what was occurring within Jaguara's walls. Hige looks at the keep with a look of sorrow on his face, his back facing Blue. "Hey, I'm sorry I made you run so much back there." he apologized. Blue forgives him for that wholly. Hige knew exactly what he had to do now from that point forward. He knew he couldn't bring Blue with her because he didn't want her to get hurt.

"Blue, I've got to go." he says sadly. She looks at the tan wolf sadly. "Are you going to save them?" she asks. "I'm gonna try." he answered, looking down. "You know, I believed it was luck that brought me to them. But… I guess it's just a joke. Trouble's been my middle name since I could remember." Hige continued.

"That's not true and you know it." Blue disagreed. "Yes it is. But that's when my memory wasn't all the way there." he replied, rubbing his neck. "Paradise had been on my mind since I joined him. I thought we could make it there." he continued. The wolf dog's eyes blinked at what he said. "Then we ended up here. That's why I've got to get them." Hige said in a whimper. "I'll go with you." Blue said, taking a step forward. Hige gives a warm chuckle before looking back at her. "Somehow, I knew you would say that. But… I can't let you." he denied. "Why not?" she asks.

"Just wait here for me." he said. She had begged him not to leave her with a sliver of tears in her eyes. "I won't Blue! I promise I will come back for you! I have faith in myself in knowing you'll be right here waiting for me. I won't give up. I promise…" he preached. Her expression softened before she nods for him to go. She can hold him to his word.

Hige then jumps down from the ledge and he sprints on the cables that would lead inside of the keep. He had to rescue to others of near death and destruction. He didn't want to be responsible for their potential deaths.

(Kiba)

 _The pain in his wolf body was only growing more intense and more worse as the blood was being sucked from his body. He growled from the pain. "CHEZA!" he cries out. The nobles began to 'celebrate' their alleged opening of their Paradise. This was not good at all._

 **Aww man poor Luna... Not only did she witness the stuffed bodies of her parents but she had to witness the death of her grandmother as well.**

 **Please leave a favorite, comment. Thank you so much for reading!**


	26. Chapter 26 Moonlight Crucible

**The time has come. Two hundred years have passed since the day of destruction; which was said to have been brought down by Lord Darcia I. All the necessary items have been collected as was recorded in the Book of the Moon.** **The guide of the Lunar Flower, awakened by wolf's precious blood. The white wolf who's birthright is to rule this world. The moonlight crucible, which has give power to this city by convertiv the moonlight to be bathed into energy. However, the world is at an end. For this will be the dawn of a new age, where Paradise will open for us nobles and not for the wolves.**

(Cher)

Cher had found the flower maiden when she entered the room and noticed the look on the maiden's face. It was full of agony. There were also veins on her neck and they were increasing. "She's withering…" she whispered. But it soon dawned on her that it wasn't that. "Wait no… she's starting to bloom!" she exclaimed, running to the machine. She tried to take control but it only shocked her that felt strange to her and it pushed her back.

(Kiba)

 _Something was happening. Kiba began to growl softly. The sound of Cheza's song was becoming unbearable to his ears. He tried everything he could do to block it out but it was fruitless. "Cheza… please. I can't hear your song anymore. Please stop…" he begged. "_ **Kiba… Hurry Kiba…"** _Cheza's voice rung in his head. He struggled and growled at the pain. He knew he needed to escape from that confined space. But he wasn't sure how. "CHEZA!" he cried, on the verge of tears. The nobles weren't going to steal paradise from the wolves._

(Luna, Tsume, Toboe)

We were still slamming our bodies at the cell doors relentlessly. I wasn't giving up so easily; especially when Cheza needs us now. Neither of us had noticed that the lights were flickering up above us. Tsume then slams against the door once more and it got the door to move a bit.

"Hey, the door moved!" Toboe called. "Finally keep going!" Tsume says, sighing in relief. We keep slamming our bodies against it. "C'mon! We can do it!" I say, slamming into the bars. "You can't open them like that!" the human's voice call, getting us to stop. We look over at him as he stands to his feet. Why did he need to stop us? We are making good progress.

"Listen to me. It looks like the locks seem to run by electricity. It's flow look like they're becoming erratic. If you three slam your bodies on the doors at the same time when the lights go dim, they'll probably." the human explains to us. My eyes widen at this because that could work. Tsume and I look at each other. "That might work. It's our last chance of getting the hell out of here." I say to him. "You're right." he nods at me. When the lights flicker again, we slammed our bodies on the bars in simultaneously.

The doors move again. "Yes. Just one more time! Here we go!" the human encouraged. We all do it again and this time the doors stay open. "It worked!" Toboe said happily. "Oh thank god…" I sigh in relief. It amazed me that this human actually helped us escape despite us being wolves. I never believed that it would ever happen. Now that we were free, we could get Cheza, Hige, and Kiba.

All the lights go out for a moment before coming back on again. "Well what do you know? I guess I came to rescue you guys for nothing." the voice of Hige entered my ears. He approached the cells with a warm smile on his face. I noticed how his collar wasn't on his neck anymore and he wasn't as… bubbly as before. Needless to say, neither Tsume and I were pleased to see him.

"Hige!" Toboe cried happily. Hige presses the button that opened the cell doors and we were released. Toboe ran to him and grabbed his hoodie. "I'm glad you're not dead!" he exclaimed. The two looked at Tsume and I; noticing the angered looks on our faces. "Well, get out of there you two." Hige said but we didn't answer. "Was this all a trap?" Tsume snarled at Hige. "Did you plan this? Or were you too damn stupid?" I growl, the tone in my voice completely changing. Toboe was confused by this argument.

"Tsume? Luna? What are you guys talking about?" Toboe asked in a puzzled tone. "We saw them. There were wolves in there stuffed and mounted like trophies." Tsume growled in anger. "And my parents were in there… My parents! Do you have any damn idea how much it killed me to see them in there?" I say with anger dripping in my voice. Toboe was horrified by this.

"Where's your collar?" Tsume asked. Hige looks down in forlorn. He proved to be profoundly guilty and was responsible for the death of hundreds if not thousands of innocent wolves. "It was just a stupid number." he replied. "Oh really? Then explain how you were able to get in here without being noticed." I ask, getting more pissed off by the second. Both of my fists were clenched tightly. It was taking everything in my body to not kill him right then and there.

"Was it your mission to lead us here?" Tsume asks. "I don't know." Hige said. "Bullshit! You were the nobles mutt! You helped them kill your own kind! Innocent wolves who didn't deserve death! You're a murderer!" I snarl at Hige with all of my anger pouring over. "If you think that of me, by all means, kill me!" Hige snapped at us. But all we did was give him a harsh, cold stare.

Hige's expression softened after a solitary minute. "Please I mean it. I don't want to go on living as a killer." he softly said. "Knock it off! This isn't you!" Toboe exclaimed, clinging onto his hoodie. Hige looked down at his feet. Even though I despised what he had done to other wolves, I… honestly couldn't hate him now. Why hold a grudge against someone who had done nothing but make you laugh and sometimes angry?

"Like me? What does that even mean? How can I be me… when I don't know who that is?" he asked sadly. I sigh and look at him with a look of truth. "Hige, look at me. Look at me and listen to me." I say, my voice steady. He does so; looking at me in my green eyes.

"When I first met you in Freeze City, I knew that you had a good heart. You made us laugh, and most times you annoyed us because of your carelessness from time to time. But… you're someone who we can rely on. Look, I may not forgive you for what you've done in the past. Hell you're not even responsible for the death of my parents. But, I can forgive you for all the times you have been reckless after meeting us. That's the REAL Hige." I say, not looking away from him.

He knew all of this was true and he considered this for a moment. "Things are getting weird in the Keep. You three can make it out if you hurry." Hige said, walking out of the room. "Where do you think you're going?" Tsume asks. "There's something I need to take care of." Hige murmured, disappearing into the darkness. "Hige!" Toboe called, running after him. Tsume and I look at the doorway. "Are you two going after them?" the human asks. I nod and look to Tsume. He opens the humans cell. Him and I take off down the hallway.

(Kiba)

 _The machine above the white wolf was starting to glow. There were sparks that lethally fired away, causing him to shake. He growled loudly with his wolf fangs bared. "_ _ **Goodbye Kiba… This one will wither…"**_ _Cheza's voice rang in his wolf ears. This was his chance to escape. Cheza was going to wither… he had to get to her! "Cheza… Hold on!" he cried out desperately._

 _Just then, all of his strength seemed to regain. He howls powerfully and majestically. With all his strength, he breaks free of the leather straps. The white wolf stands on his wolf paws with his wolf tail raised all the way. He shakes the tubes off him and howls loudly for everyone in the room to hear._

 _He then runs alongside the moonlight crucible at the speed of lightning. Landing on the top of the crucible, he looks down upon Jaguara's troops. They witnessed the great power of the white wolf standing before them. Afterwards, he finds himself in the pure golden light of the crucible._

 _There were many voices echoing all around him._ " **We the nobles have become lost. Disconnected from the world of our birth. We quietly wait for a lonely death. But you and I can step forward and hold this moment forever."** Jaguara says. " **But the scale and stagnant moment of time, one can neither long for in the past, nor change what has yet to come."** Darcia replies.

" _A fabricated Paradise… such a place which holds no future." a disembodied Kiba says. He had come into a world that was like Paradise however… it wasn't Paradise. It was the nobles Paradise. There stood Darcia and Jaguara. They spoke of the nobles Paradise. "You're wrong. This is not Paradise." Kiba spoke through Darcia. The female noble jolted back and looked behind her._

 _There was a wolf. A white wolf with yellow eyes. He bares his wolf fangs and lunges at her. His fangs came in contact with her throat and she screamed like Cheza. Afterwards… everything turned white. Kiba jumped out of the golden light of the moonstone and into reality again. He screamed Cheza's name as he bolted out of there. All he wanted now was to get to Cheza._

(Luna, Tsume, Toboe, Hige)

The four of us sprinted down a barren corridor. Jaguara was close. I caught her scent. Hige ran ahead of us in his wolf form. Before either of us reached the doorway, I hear Hige crying out in sheer pain. "Hige!" I cry, sprinting faster. I prayed that that Jaguara hadn't hurt him…

But as I feared, he was laying on the floor with Jaguara's sword in his back in his wolf form. "Hige!" Toboe yelled, coming up behind me. I look over at the noble then over at Hige. "C'mon!" Toboe urged, running to Hige. Tsume and I run behind him. "Hige! Oh my god! Are you okay?" I say, kneeling down in front of him. The tan wolf growled in pain and was trying not to scream.

 _I look back at the bitch herself with my gold wolf eyes locked on her. Turning around, I charge at the noble with my wolf fangs bared. I lunged at her and opened my wolf jaws so I could make a killing move. With another sword, I feel her strike me on my left cheek; causing me to yelp in pain. "_ Luna!" _Tsume cried. I get to my wolf paws and feel the warm trickle of blood from my left cheek._ I run over to Hige to see if he was okay.

"Luna, are you okay?" Tsume asked, seeing the cut on my cheek. "I'm fine. Don't worry about me. Hige?" I say, looking at Hige. He tried standing up on his wolf paws but Toboe was trying to hold him down. "No Hige! Don't move!" he yelped. " _I… promised… I'd make things right."_ Hige struggled, baring his wolf fangs. What promise was he talking about?

"To who? What promise?" I asked. " _To… To… her. I want to make things right."_ He growled in pain, managing to stand up. I jolt back at that. A promise…? To Blue? He was going back to her? He then darts back over to Jaguara with his wolf fangs bared and managed to get a bite on her.

I stand up and face her. My vengeance wasn't over yet. I had to do this for the death of my parents. For the death of my family. _I snarl at her with my wolf fangs bared. "_ Luna, no! She'll kill you!" _Toboe warned. I look back at the red wolf. "No. She needs to pay for this." I snarl, then making a sprint at her. Lunging at her, I manage to deeply bite her in the shoulder. She didn't have time to react to my attack this time._

 _When I landed, I noticed that Kiba made his appearance. He managed to get a few blows on Jaguara. Hige gets another bite on her and it made her bleed._ Then, Darcia walks in the room. None of us saw him appear. He simply stands in front of her. I watch in satisfaction as Darcia uses that same sword to impale her through her abdomen.

With raspy breathing, she falls to the ground. Dead. I feel the sensation of relief go through my body as the bitch dies right before my eyes. Just as I wanted. I make my way back over to Tsume. He quickly gives me a tight, protective hug. "Don't do that again, you hear?" he scolds. "Calm down, would you? I'm fine." I say. "You've got a cut on your cheek, Luna." he reminded. "Yeah. Thanks captain obvious. Now… can we get Cheza and Hige? I want to get the hell out of here…" I say, feeling suffocated.

And with that, we all left the now falling keep. Cheza was finally back with us. Toboe and Tsume had Hige's arms over their shoulders so they could help him out. After we left the keep, I take a quick glimpse at it. _Goodbye mom and dad… May we meet again… in Paradise._

 **The gang finally make it out of there. Cheza is back with the pack. Please leave a comment and a favorite. Thank you so much for reading!**


	27. Chapter 27 Where the Soul Goes

**Where are we born? Where do we die? Why are we born? Why do we die? Time has destroyed our world and we've fallen many times. We always resurrect from the ashes of Paradise. An endless cycle of life and death. The world's a Paradise which was opened by a single being but this era is almost at a close. We've acquired the means to exceed our natural spin of life. Never suspecting the world itself to finalize in its existence.**

 **The knowledge had left me in despair. My fate has fallen and scattered like the petals of a dying flower. It was like a blast of a sand storm, worn down and withered away. As if to be purified, this world will be encased in ice so it can return to a new beginning. Why are they here? Will they find Paradise? In the end, what will they choose in this dying world?**

 **Can miles truly separate you from your loved ones? You'll find them as you look back on your life. The moments when you've done things in the spirit of love. Paradise is a world which was opened by someone.**

(Luna)

Everything in the city had changed since we last saw it. It wasn't immaculate anymore. Ice was slowly starting to cover up every piece of evidence that humans inhabited this god awful place. It was very cold also; shivers ran up my spine.

Hige had led us to an alleyway that overlooked the fallen keep. He was on his hands and knees in despair. "This is… where I said I'd meet her. She's not here…" he whimpered in sorrow. It honestly hurt me to see Hige hurt like this. If he made that promise then… why would she leave this spot?

"Maybe her instincts told her to escape. Even she would be smart enough to get out of here." Toboe says to assure him. "Or maybe she didn't think you'd keep your promise." Tsume said lowly. I gaze at Tsume for a minute and silently agreed with him. She probably wanted to make it out alive as much as the rest of us.

"Hige… she may be gone. Gone out of this city. You made things right for her." I say softly. There was nothing he could've done to keep her here. "Kiba." Cheza said. She was in Kiba's arms. Cheza wanted to heal Hige's wounds.

Kiba took her over to him and the flower maiden touched his back. There was a silver glow that came from her hand and it spread along his shoulder. "Don't give up on Paradise. It is meant for all of you." she said, trying her hardest to heal him. But it wasn't as strong. "Kiba! Please make her stop! I can't take it anymore!" Hige cried, close to tears. Cheza then wanted to heal my cheek. Or as much as she could.

Kiba brings her over to me and I feel her smooth hand touch my cut cheek. "You must go. All of you." she whispered. The touch of her hand was unbearable. "Kiba. Take her away. Please." I beg, feeling tears form in my eyes. He does so and hands her over to Tsume. He then goes to Hige to help him stand up.

"Grab onto me." Kiba said. Hige was hesitant of Kiba's actions. "Wait, are you gonna say something about how Jaguara and I-" Hige starts but Kiba cuts him off, putting his left arm over his shoulders. "Hige, did you forget what you and Luna had told me before? It was having pride wouldn't count if you're dead. We've been going to Paradise since the beginning. None of that's changed and it won't start now." Kiba explained, getting Hige to his feet.

I did remember telling him that a while back. I'm glad he stuck with that. Kiba then leads him out of there with the rest of us following him. We never looked back at that place. Miles away, were in nothing but a barren dark heath. There was nothing left of this world anymore. No trace of a human or any sort of life forms ahead. After a while, the six of us had found a place to rest.

We had to rest for a little while, not only our sake but for Hige's sake. _The others were asleep on the ground in their wolf forms. I, on the other hand, wasn't. Hige was missing Blue. She had to be out here somewhere. Getting up to my wolf paws, I look back at the others._

" _I will be back… don't worry about me. I'll find Blue for you, Hige." I whisper. "_ Luna, where are you going?" _Cheza's voice said from behind me._ _I gaze behind me to look at her. "I have to find Blue, Cheza. Once I find her, I will come back. I promise." I say with determination. "_ Please… be careful." _she tells me. I nod before taking off running to find Blue in the cold, barren heath. She needed to be somewhere._

 **Sorry if this chapter is shorter than the other ones. Please fav and comment. Thank you for reading.**


	28. Chapter 28 Finding Hope

(Luna)

 _I don't know where I was at. All I knew was that I was close to finding Blue's scent. She was definitely out here. The stench of the old man that was her master was with her. The alcohol scent was still on him and it was beginning to wane._

 _I run towards the west. While I was running, the others were on my mind. Mostly Tsume. They were probably wondering where I was at this point in time. Or maybe they already knew. I don't know. Stopping again, I focus my hearing. There was the distinct sound of a car speeding past me. It was growing louder and louder by the second. My wolf paws make me run again. I kept running and running._

Then, in the distance, I could see two figures. On closer inspection, I see that it's Blue and her master. I had found them. "Blue!" I cry, starting to run towards her. My call grabbed both of their attention and the old man quickly grabs his gun. "L-Luna?! You're here?" Blue said in shock. I stopped a few feet from them because of her master having his gun. "Wait, Pops. Don't shoot her." Blue said, standing in front of me.

With a grunt, he puts his gun down and faces away from us. "Luna, how're you here? Where are the others?" she asks. "We left the city. I had to find you, Blue. Hige was coming back for you but you weren't there." I reply. She gasped at this, not knowing that we had already left. "What about the others?" she wondered. But before I could answer, the sound of that car filled our ears.

Blue looked over and saw the car speeding towards us. Running to it, she stands in front of it. "Please stop! We need your help!" she yelled, sticking her arms out. But it wasn't stopping. "Blue, what are you doing?!" I cry, the sound of the car drowning my voice out. Then, out of nowhere, the old man uses his body weight to shove her out of the way and we hear a crunching sound through the heavy, icy smoke. Once it cleared, we see that the old man had taken the hit for Blue.

Blue runs over to him and starts to shake his broken body. "Pops wake up! Pops!" Blue cried. I come over to her and take a look at the old man. He was banged up badly from the hit. "Is he okay?" I ask. "I don't know! I don't want him to die!" she cried. I straighten up and take a look at our surroundings.

"Blue, put him on your shoulders. Maybe we can get him to safety." I said suggestively. She quickly nodded and managed to get the broken man over her shoulders. We then move from that area. Even though I didn't like Blue's owner for the many times he tried to kill us, I honestly didn't want him to die for Blue's sake.

(Kiba, Tsume, Hige, and Toboe)

The others had woken up by this time. They knew of Luna's sudden disappearance. Cheza had told them where she had gone to. Deeply, Tsume felt a pang of hurt by the fact that Luna would go and leave them like this. It was so vulnerable out here and she could be killed out there without them knowing.

Tsume silently pleaded for her to be alive. He couldn't lose her. Then, Hige's gasp brought them out of his trance. "That's Blue's scent! And Luna's scent!" Hige declared, getting Kiba to let go of him so he could investigate. Toboe comes by his side to support him if he needed it. There was seemingly fresh blood on the ice, making Hige groan.

"Ugh… what a stink. This is human blood." Hige said, pulling back. Toboe sniffs it also. "Wait… this is that old man's blood." he announced. Tsume takes a couple of steps forward with Cheza still in his arms.

"They could be out there. Him and Blue. Hell, I hope that Luna has found them. Who would've thought Blue would go back to being a human's pet? Or better off in the long run." Tsume coldly says. This angered Hige and he snaps back at the grey wolf, "That's not for you to decide! How would you like it if I said that about Luna?! Huh?!" That angered Tsume to an infuriating degree.

"You best shut the hell up right now." he growled, not wanting to think about Luna potentially being dead.

(Luna, Blue)

Blue was carrying her master over her shoulders and he couldn't even walk. She was dragging him. His blood was leaving a stain behind us. They were softly talking to one another and I couldn't make out what was being said. To be honest, I don't want to intervene between their conversation. It's just between them.

Then from behind me, I hear them collapsing from behind me. Turning around, I see them lying on the ground. Blue was in her wolf form with the old man on top of her. "Blue!" I cry, running to her. _I look down at her in my wolf form; my gold wolf eyes not tearing away from her. It looked as though she was exhausted from carrying him._

 _Not five minutes later, I hear another car coming screeching to a sudden halt. Looking up, I see that married human couple were driving. They gasped at the sight before them. Two she wolves with a fallen human._

The two humans were looking over Blue's master. "There aren't many fractures but he may have brain damage." the woman, who I learned that her name is Cher and her husband's name is Hubb, explained. Blue grew more worried by the minute. "He's not gonna die is he?" she asked. "I'm sure he'll be alright, Blue. All he needs is time to regain his strength again. You just have to be patient." I tell her calmly. "Oh… I hope you're right." she sighs.

 _Afterwards, Blue lays with her master in her wolf form while I sat away a couple of feet. I kept my wolf eyes in front of me and my wolf ears raised just in case I could hear the others. Honestly, I was worried. I didn't want to overthink that something could've happened to them. Tsume was mostly on my mind. What was wrong with me? Am… Am I… in love with Tsume?_

 _After a while, we were all in that car that Hubb and Cher drove up in. Blue didn't leave her master's side. I, on the other hand, wanted to keep my distance. Surely, that Blue's master still didn't want to be around wolves. Wolves like me or any wolves for that matter. As the two humans in the front started talking away, the instinct to get back to the others was very strong. My heart was telling me to go back to Tsume._

" _Stop! Stop the car!" Blue cried. I look at her to see her awake. The car did stop. "Open the door!" I yell. Then, the doors flew open; Blue and I sprung out and started running in the opposite direction. We were going back to the others. My wolf legs weren't going to stop until we did find them._

 _By this point, it was my heart that was making me run on that dark, barren heath. I followed it and wouldn't stop. Blue and I started coming over hill while sprinting. In the far distance, I see four familiar wolves. It was the pack! And Hige had fallen over on the ground. "Hige!" Blue cried. "Tsume!" I yelled. Tsume looks up with his wolf ears raised and didn't hesitate to start running towards me. Hige too got up and limped over to Blue._

" _Tsume! Tsume!" I yelled, leaping into the air and colliding onto Tsume. "Oh my god, Luna… Don't ever scare me like that again…" Tsume said, nuzzling me. I nuzzle him back while licking his cheeks. "Tsume… I'm so glad to see you." I whisper, rubbing my wolf head alongside his wolf neck. My heart couldn't stop fluttering. It was true… I was in love with the grey wolf._

Just then, the car pulled up a minute after Blue and I. Tsume wrapped his arm around my waist as we watch Hubb and Cher step out of the car. "Cheza…!" Cher said, seeing Cheza being held by Kiba. Kiba had put her down so Cher could look over her. Then, a distant star shot passed us and gave a soft explosion far behind us.

The ground shook under us for a moment. "It seems that things are falling apart faster than we could imagine." Chere said, brushing Cheza's bangs. "Is leaving this planet the only way to survive? Could we fly away to find some other planet somewhere?" Hubb asks, looking up at the sky.

"Why? Why do humans look to the sky? Why do you try to fly even though you have no wings? We use what we've been given. We'll run on our legs for as long as it takes." Kiba poetically says. _And with that, I run beside Tsume while Kiba takes the lead and Toboe is behind us. Hige and Blue rode in the truck with Blue's master._

 _The wind was starting to pick up a little bit but that didn't slow us down. As we ran, another falling star catches my attention. It causes another explosion. The ground shakes bad enough to where there are cracks in the ground. They steer right to avoid it but it doesn't work. The truck falls over onto its side with a loud crash._

 _Almost everyone had made it out. Before Cher could get out, the ice below the fallen car started to give way. At that moment, everything seemed like it was in slow motion as the car started falling with Cher inside of it still._

At the bottom of the cliff, Hubb was a few feet away from us as he held his wife in his arms. I feel Tsume's arm around my waist yet again as we all watch from a distance. I just knew that Cher was going to die. There's no way she'd survive a fall from that height. Tears started to fall from my face. Then, the sound of Hubb's hysterical sobbing made it clear that Cher had passed on. I couldn't help but feel sympathy for the two.

After a few minutes, Hubb takes Cher's body over to open water. He places her in it and lets her sink into the dark abyss. Hubb then walks passed us to the car. We all looked over to him and see him try to push the truck right side up. But he slips on the snow and falls over on his face.

Seeing him try his damndest to get the truck back on its wheels made Kiba walk over to him. He decided to give him a helping hand. Soon enough, Tsume, I, Hige, and Toboe decide to help him out. I press my body against the cold steel of the car and begin to push as hard as I could. We all give it our damndest and finally get the car on it's wheels with a loud crash.

"You guys still going?" Hubb asks Kiba. "Yeah. We cannot stop. Not now." Kiba answered directly. "I'm going with you guys. I won't know how long it'll take but I'll make sure that you all get there." Hubb said with determination. He was gonna help us again? Honestly, I couldn't thank him enough.

 **The gang is reunited once again. Luna admits that she's in love with Tsume. Thank you for reading.**


	29. Chapter 29 Confessions

Confessions

 _The wind had begun to pick up to an uproar. I had to lower my wolf ears all the way as we ran. The truck's engine was the only sound along with the heavy winds. It felt as though we were going nowhere. What road were we going down? At this point, I don't even know._

 _Suddenly, the car comes to a screeching halt. We stopped running and immediately turn back to see what was going on._ Hubb then quickly jumps out of the drivers side of the car and runs to the very back. The back door opens and we see Blue's master having trouble breathing. He was shaking also; it wasn't the kind of shaking that showed someone is cold.

"What's going on?" Kiba asks. Hubb gets on top of Blue's master and starts pressing down on his chest. "It could be dehydration or he's convulsing from internal bleeding!" Hubb exclaimed to us. "Is there something we can do?" I ask. The old man got hit by a car, for god's sake so he might die from this.

"I don't even know what the hell I'm doing! I'm not certified in CPR!" Hubb answered in desperation. Hubb was doing what he could to keep the old bastard from dying on Blue. But what could he do? What could we do? I'm not sure anymore.

Cheza then moves to where the old man's mouth was and puts her lips over his. His wheezing ceased when she did that and she looked like she was kissing him. But I think she was only giving him water so he could sustain how badly injured he is. She pulls back after a few minutes and he coughs roughly a few times before breathing normally.

Hubb sits back and rubs his forehead, which was beaded in sweat. "He's out of the woods for now." he sighed. Blue sighed in relief and closed her eyes. I could tell that she was happy that her master is okay for now. However, it didn't take long before Cheza seemed to grow weak and she collapses in Blue's arms. I figured we'd be here for a while while Cheza recovered.

I lean against the back of the car with Tsume standing next to me. Cheza gently pours water into the old man's mouth with cupped hands to keep him hydrated. "Are you alright, Cheza?" Kiba asks in concern. "This one will be fine." she responded softly, leaning back against the wall of the car. I look away from them and look to the west. There was nothing out there. At least there isn't anything there that I could see. The world was really coming to an end.

"Thanks Cheza. You've done more than enough." Blue says, gratefully. I turn my head and look at Cheza. "Looks like he'll be alright. He just needs to sleep." Toboe said in relief. "What if he wakes up and sees us? Surely he'll pass out again." Tsume asks. My eyes lock on the grey wolf for a moment then back at Blue.

"Yeah, I don't think he'll be pleased with the whole idea of going to Paradise. It's gonna drive him crazy." I say, crossing my arms. "He's changed. Luna, he knows I'm half wolf. He's accepted me despite that. You saw how he protected me." Blue gently said to me. My eyebrows furrowed in confusion for a minute before silently realizing. He must've found out in the city.

"So those times he tried to kill us was nothing more than a misunderstanding?" I ask. "No. It couldn't have been that simple to let go. His hatred for wolves was probably the only thing that drove him for as long as he has been. It's all he had left." Hige mumbles. I noticed the earnest look on his face.

Afterwhile, we all got moving again. This time, I decided to ride in the car along with Toboe, Blue, and Hige. I was leaning against the corner of the car that was by the door. The rumbling of the truck was soothing and it almost made me fall asleep.

Then, a jingle sound brought me out of my potential slumber. It was Toboe's rings and it made me look over at him. He was trying to reach over to the sleeping old man. "Toboe, what are you doing?" I ask. He quickly pulls his hand back and gives Blue and I a wide eyed expression. "Oh, I was just checking on him. He's warmer now." he says, sitting up.

The smile on my face softened. It was amazing how Toboe could care for this man after he tried to kill him many times in the past. I know he has a soft spot for humans like Blue does. I can't make the choice of hating humans for his sake. It wouldn't be right for me to do that.

"You're right. He won't kill us." Toboe mentioned, "Luna, do you remember when we found him in the mountains a while back?" "Yeah. Yeah I do." I answer, "He was holding onto you so tightly." "Yeah, he thought it was you, Blue." Toboe said, glancing at the old man. I did remember when he did that. The old man was half dead in the snow.

"While this happened, it got me thinking. Blue must mean so much to him. I have to admit, I was jealous." Toboe softly admitted, his hazel eyes giving a saddened gloss. He felt jealous? It surely didn't seem like he was. "Toboe." Blue said. Toboe looks back at her. "Whatever happens to me, I want you to look after Pops. Okay?" she asks, much to our shock. "Blue, are you sure about this? You've been with him your whole life." I ask, looking at her. "I'm sure. I need someone to look after him if something were to happen." Blue answered softly.

"Don't say stuff like that! Nothing's gonna happen to you. We're all going to Paradise together." Toboe scolds, his eyes narrowing. "I know. But, you're the only one I can trust to look after him." she said. I stop listening after hearing that and look down at my knees. Was Blue falling in love with Hige? We both fell in love it would seem.

Then, the truck starts coming to a rumbling stop. Looks like the car had finally succumbed to the harsh world. We all get out of the car and start to walk away from the only piece of evidence that anything lived on this planet. _A storm started to brew around us and it was only getting stronger. I carried a blanket on my wolf back as I walked beside Tsume and Toboe._

After a good while of walking, we finally make it to a safe spot for us to rest for the time being so the old man could rest. Everything just keeps going to shit everywhere we turn and it's not fair. Witnessing my grandmother getting killed was traumatizing enough; especially after seeing the two stuffed bodies of my parents. However, those bastards didn't care. I just wish things would go right for once…

I had isolated myself from the pack for the time being and I just looked up at the red moon. It seemed to get darker and darker. I felt tears flow down my frostbitten cheeks from feeling scared, and from the pain I've been going through. "Luna? You should be sleeping." Tsume said from behind me. I jumped a bit and looked behind me to see him standing behind me in his human form. "Oh Tsume. I didn't hear you coming." I say, quickly wiping the tears.

Without a word, he came and sat down next to me like he did in that cell in Jaguara's keep. For some reason, when he sat down next to me, I couldn't help but feel… safe and comforted by him. I didn't want him to worry about me.

"Luna, why are you here?" Tsume asked in a subtle yet calm voice. "I needed to think. Tsume… do you think… we will make it to Paradise?" I question, looking back ahead of us. He was taken aback by my question.

It was as if he didn't want me asking that. "I… I don't know. Frankly, I don't think believing in it at this point won't solve anything. All my life I've been running from my past. I always found it ridiculous. Ever since… I betrayed my old pack." he answered, sounding more pained the more he talked. I twisted my head around to look at him and my heart broke at seeing his face. As closely as I could, I saw a tear roll down his cheek.

"Tsume…" I whisper, looking at him with a sympathetic look. He puts his hand over his X shaped scar and closed his eyes. "Do you want to talk about it?" I ask. He sucks in a sharp breath and opened his eyes again. "I was running. My pack was being slaughtered. I didn't turn back to save them; I was showing cowardice. So much so that I was banished by the alpha of it." he told me. There was guilt hugely profound in his voice.

"Was… that why you resented us when you first met us a while back?" I asked, turning to face him. "Yeah. After what had happened, I felt like I couldn't trust myself to be around other wolves. But when I met you guys, that seemed to change." he answered, looking at me. I look down at the water below us. My reflection showed a black she wolf that was as black as the night sky with gold, piercing eyes and a dark grey mask. The notches in my ears made me tear up badly.

"What's wrong?" he asks, noticing this. "I'm a traitor too." I reply. "Luna…" Tsume started but I cut him off. "I wanted to save my father from that fire… but he told me to run. I did… I was scared. Everyone was dying around me… I wanted to stop it but I would've died if I stayed behind." I say, tears running down my cheeks.

I close my eyes and start to softly cry. Suddenly, I feel warmth around my whole body. It dawned on me that Tsume was hugging me once again. "Don't take it to heart." Tsume comforted. My eyes open and I pull myself back a little bit to look at Tsume in the eyes. The glass in his golden green eyes made my heart beat faster than before. "Tsume… I…" I begin.

However, no words were spoken. We both lean into each other and I close my eyes slowly. I then feel his mouth on mine. His lips were warm against mine. It felt amazing to me… I wrap my arms around his neck and deepened the kiss. At that moment, I knew… he loved me as well. He didn't have to say it; his actions spoke louder than any words could ever do.

We spent almost 20 minutes underneath that red moon just showing our love to one another though our blunt actions. I was the first to pull back but didn't let go of him. Our foreheads pressed together. I put my right hand on his cheek and felt my heart rushing with anticipation.

"Tsume… I want to spend the rest of my time with you... If we should die... then I want to live out the rest of my life with you." I tell him softly. "Yes. I'm not gonna lose you... I won't." he softly said back. We end up kissing again. I closed my eyes and just embraced this moment between us. 

_We then lay together in our wolf forms by that lake. I press my wolf head under his wolf muzzle and close my eyes. Just having him here with me was… breathtaking. I've never felt a love like this before… I don't think he has either. Guess when I came into his life, everything changed from then on out. Little did I know, it changed for me as well._


	30. Chapter 30 Gunshot of Remorse

No more than 10 minutes or so pass by. Tsume and I made our way back to the others. The whole time Tsume's story was weighing heavily on my mind. I didn't think he had trust issues because of losing his pack. I, too, lost my own pack in the same manner yet… I didn't have what he had. It was only nightmares of the destruction of my home. Or what it once was. I don't know where'd I'd be at this point in time if I hadn't met Tsume and the others. Probably dead if not mortally wounded.

The time alone didn't seem to change at all. Just the same, old sky. I sit beside Tsume and his arm was wrapped around me. I lean against him and try to relax. With our precarious situation, it was difficult. Blue stayed beside her master to watch over him as he slept. Toboe was beside her and Hige wasn't too far off. Kiba was by Cheza, who hugged him.

There was a grunting sound coming from Blue's master, causing her to react to it. "Pops!" she cried in relief. Hubb too turned to Blue's master. He watched her master carefully. "Blue…?" Blue's master groaned. His breathing seemed to be normal and there was no sign of wheezing. Even his voice sounded hoarse and raspy like he hadn't spoken in years.

" _It's alright Pops. I'm right beside you."_ Blue assured softly. He gently pets her cheek, getting her wolf ears to lower. "There you are… Blue. My good girl." her master said happily. Blue kneels in front of him in her human form. "It's me Quent. Don't you remember?" Hubb said, getting the old man to chuckle.

"Heh heh… Detective Dandy." Quent says lightly. He was probably not expecting to see Hubb beside him. "Do you see him?" Blue wondered. "The only thing I see is a bunch of blurs." Quent replied, trying to make sense of where he is. Toboe bent over to look at the old man with a smile.

"Hey, he's awake! That's great!" Toboe said, sounding relieved. Quent gasps at hearing the red wolf's voice in his throbbing ear. "Is that the boy?" Quent asks. Tsume takes a hold of my hand and squeezes it some.

"That's right old man." Kiba says. "What? Who's that?" Quent wondered. I had a deep suspicion that he'd get angered by our presence. He wouldn't take too kindly to us. "Well Pops… the thing is… they're… they're…" Blue stuttered, swallowing anxiously. "We're the wolves you tried to kill." I say, rescuing the conversation. Quent gasps at I said but only for a moment. He thought he was hallucinating.

"It's true, Quent. They are wolves. Even the flower maiden is here. She's the one who revived you." Hubb explained composed. "Yeah, we're going to Paradise. Together." Blue adds. Tsume wrapped his arm around my shoulders and gently hugged me. My eyebrows furrowed. With the many times of him trying to kill us out of his hatred for us, why would he want to go?

Without further questions, Quent starts to get up with a tired grunt. "You shouldn't be moving!" Blue protests, grabbing his coat but only to lose her grip. He starts walking away without saying a single thing to her. He takes a look towards us in his drunken state.

 _In front of him was a small red wolf, a large grey wolf, a black she wolf that was as dark as night, an injured chubby tan wolf, and a white wolf that was by the flower maiden's side._ He shakes his head and starts staggering off. "Wait, where are you going?" Hubb asked. Quent should not be moving otherwise he'll meet his death out there.

"They want to go there… Nothing but a nightmare. If you're telling me these ridiculous things, then I'm better off dead…" Quent snarled, not stopping. "What's wrong with you?! Don't you know how important you are to Blue?! Or how worried she is for you?!" Toboe scolded, his fists clenched together. But his rant only fell on deaf ears.

"Luna and I know how much you want to be with her! Why're you acting this way?!" Toboe said, raising his voice. I lift my head and blink. "Shut the hell up!" Quent yelled, stopping. Toboe flinched at the tone in Quent's voice. "Blue… you're not my dog anymore." Quent said, cold and stoic. I gasp at the remark and jolt back.

"But you can't…" Blue whispered. Then, the harsh wind started to pick up once again. Hearing what he did just know royally pissed me off to the core. He just threw her out onto the curb like she's nothing to him anymore… Why the hell did he do that? Was it because she's half wolf?

Blue then gets up and walks off into the storm without saying anything. Hige had gone after her shortly after.

(Hige and Blue)

Blue stands at a cliff edge that was looking over a huge part of the heath that lied below her. The thought of the only two life forms was the last thing she wanted to do. How could he just let her go that easily? It didn't make sense to her.

Just then, a pair of footsteps was heard from behind her and she knew exactly who they belonged to. "Are you still going, Hige?" she asks the tan wolf. "Why not right? We've made it this far." he responded, partly joking. "It doesn't matter. I'm coming with you." she blurts. He gazed at the wolf dog with sad eyes. He knew that she wanted to be with him. There wasn't anything for him to do or say to change that.

"I take it Paradise isn't on your list, right?" Blue asked him. There was a brief pause of silence. It felt like eons until either one of them spoke again. He looks up at her once again. "What do you mean, Blue?" he asks but was cut off by Blue's risen voice. "DO I HAVE TO TELL YOU AGAIN?! I'm only half wolf. There's no way I'd be able to get in to Paradise so easily." Blue said, looking down.

Hige was just as guilty because of his wrongdoings in the past. "But… I was one of Jaguara's wolves. I won't be accepted into Paradise like Kiba and the others. There's no way… Not after all that I have done." Hige replied, looking down at his feet. Would there even be a inkling of a good chance for him getting into Paradise without a problem? Especially with all the murders he's committed before? Blue would meet the same fate as Hige.

Blue then directs a simple yet blunt question towards him. "Why don't you stay with me? I saw that Luna had chosen Tsume. She wants to stay with him. So let me stay with you." Blue says. "But what about the old man? Won't you care that you can't see him anymore? And that you won't make it into Paradise?" Hige protests. All her life she's been by that human's side, unaware of her wolf heritage.

"The only thing that matters to me now… is you Hige." Blue said, squeezing her eyes shut, "If I can be with you when the world ends, it'll be enough for me!" She runs to him and hugged him tightly. He hesitated for a minute but hugged her back as if he would lose her if he did let go.

(Luna)

By this time, the wind was ruthlessly blowing and I closed my eyes and tried to block it out. But it didn't work. My ears catch the gasp from Cheza as well as a high pitched frequency noise that penetrated the air. It hurt my head heavily and I covered both of my ears and whimpered.

"Luna?" Tsume said in concern. "I… I can't be the only one feeling that… right?" I groan. "No. It's that sound." Toboe said. Once the frequency died down, I uncovered my ears. "He's here. And he's close." Kiba growled at this. I cling onto Tsume and looked in the direction of the sound. Then, a ray of red strikes the ground in the distance, causing the ground to shake.

Then, a bright light had blinded us, getting all of us to cover our eyes. "A voice is crying out. There is pain and sadness." Cheza said in a low voice. "What's happened, Cheza? Was someone hurt?" Kiba dreadfully asks. She gazed off to where the light was shone. "Take this one there." she told Kiba. He nodded and he looks to Tsume and I.

From how Cheza said these words, something was definitely up. "Kiba, you stay with Cheza. Luna, go with Toboe and deal with the humans." Tsume directs. I turn to Tsume. "Please be careful out there. I can't lose you." Tsume whispered. "You won't. I'll be fine." I assure. Tsume then kisses me again.

"C'mon Luna!" Toboe called, starting to run. I soon follow him, looking back at Tsume for a moment. Deeply, I didn't want to leave him. I couldn't leave him. However, I had to stay with Toboe also to make sure that things go as planned.

(Tsume)

Tsume watched as Toboe and Luna disappeared into the heavy dust. He didn't want to let her go for the possibility of getting hurt. Or killed. But at the same time, he couldn't keep her cooped up. She is a strong she wolf and she can handle herself. She'd even howl if something were to happen.

"Did you feel it too, Tsume? Luna couldn't have been the only one." Kiba asks. "I did when we made it to Jaguara's keep. Hige could've left us when we made it there. But that was before his memories returned." Tsume replied, still looking ahead. Kiba lifted his eyes at the grey wolf. "We all knew that he was hiding something." Kiba said firmly.

Cheza then whispered something into Kiba's ear. It was urgent. Darcia had made it into the area with us. Kiba growled under his breath.

(Toboe and Luna)

 _Toboe and I sprinted through the heavy winds as we tried to find those damn humans. It was stupid of them to wander out there. "Toboe, are you getting anything?" I ask, raising my wolf ears. He looked around. "The old man is this way!" he replied, speeding up. I follow suit until the two of us could see the old man staggering ahead._

The old man points his gun at Toboe and I as we stand in our human forms. He waits for a moment but continued to walk. He didn't bother to shoot us. "Wait up!" Toboe called, running up to him. "You're pretty damn stupid for coming out here!" I shout over the wind. The old man didn't stop walking. "If you want to laugh at how I live my life, go ahead and laugh." he said, "We're not like you dignified wolves. You have to find something to cling to. Like you black wolf, you hold onto to that grey wolf."

Hearing that last statement made me gasp. He knew what I was holding on to. He went on telling us that he's found something to resent and he wouldn't stop doing what he's been doing since we first met him back in Freeze City. He said that you gotta love something.

Toboe stops walking after the old man and I stand next to him. "I've always liked humans!" Toboe shouted, "Please Pops!" "Don't call me that!" Quent yelled. I quickly gaze around as I felt something very wrong. "Toboe… he's here." I warn, feeling on edge. Toboe too felt on edge when I said that.

 _The two of us stand in our wolf forms as the winds pass over. With my fangs bared, I growl at who was ahead of us. I stand in a fighting stance with my wolf tail sticking straight up in the air to show my dominance. It was Darcia, wearing a purple cloak with… with blood trailing behind him. He had finally made his appearance._

 _Toboe was on my right also in a fighting stance. He growled deeply as he stood by Quent. The noble was coming closer to us. He was no more than 20 feet away from us. "_ It was you." _Quent growled, looking like he recognized the noble._ "Unclean creature. You're not permitted to be here." _Darcia seethed, still walking forward. I feel my hackles rise in anger. It made me want to fight this bastard. But I had to resist._

"You're not allowed here. I won't allow you to go any further." _the noble said, his gold eye flickering._ "I saw that eye. Glaring at me through the fire. What the hell are you? A human? Or a wolf?" _Quent said, keeping his gun held tightly in his grip. "_ I'm neither man nor beast." _Darcia retorted, still walking._ "Whatever you are, I know a wolf's eye when I see one." _Quent snarled, not looking away, "_ When you lose something dear to you, you stop at nothing to seek revenge. You're soul dies along with what you lost. Do you know what that feels like?"

 _Darcia stops and looks at the man with a stoic expression._ "Indeed I do." _Darcia replied. "_ You seek revenge and show no mercy." _Quent said. The noble was a few feet from us. "_ Yes. And without forgiveness." _Darcia says, slowly pulling out a gun which he had hidden. Quent holds his gun up and aimed it directly at the noble._

 _Toboe then jumps in between the two with a sharp growl before Quent pulls the trigger. "Toboe!" I cry out. Toboe… he… he had been struck by the bullet that Quent shot. It went straight through his big, caring heart._

 _I stopped growling when I saw Toboe get shot through his back and I felt frozen. Frozen from shock and anger._ I run to him in my human form with tears in my eyes. I fell to my knees and landed right in front of him. "Toboe! Toboe no!" I cry, seeing his lifeless body lay on the ice. He… he couldn't be. No.

 **God, I'm a monster for this last scene. What have I done?!**

 **Thank you for reading.**


	31. Chapter 31 High Tide High Time

I look down at Toboe; tears falling from my face. Toboe had been gunned down… I couldn't breathe or think. I couldn't even howl at this given time to let the others know… It was as if what I witnessed stole the voice right out of my very being Out of my peripheral vision, I saw Quent make his way over here. His face was filled with horror and instant regret.

There was a large, crimson hole in Toboe's back… his blood covered it. I felt sick… Suddenly, I felt something within me take over. _I quickly turn around with a loud growl towards Darcia and bit him on his extended arm. "You… bastard!" I snarl, digging my wolf fangs deep into his arm. It was because of Darcia that this happened…_

 _Without a second thought, the noble manages to swing his arm outwards to get me off of him. I land on the ice with a hard thud. Lying on my side, I feel the lightning pain surge through my whole body. Shaking, I manage to get myself back onto my wolf paws. I look up and see Toboe jumping on Darcia's arm as another shot was fired._

 _(Tsume and Kiba)_

The two wolves were sprinting towards where the gunshot came from. Tsume was praying that Toboe and Luna hadn't been shot. 'Please let them be alive…' he begged. He couldn't lose them. He should've known better than to send them out there. Tsume's heart was beating so fast in fear. But the adrenaline kept him going.

(Hige and Blue)

Hige and Blue too heard the distant gunshots. Instant fear started to settle in them both. "Toboe… Luna…" Hige gasps worriedly. "Let's go back. C'mon." Blue whispered to the tan wolf. Hige gazed down for a moment before agreeing.

(Luna and Toboe)

 _I look on in shock as Toboe dangled from the nobles arm, growling deeply. Darcia's blood spilled onto the ground below them. Darcia seemed to be unphased by our bites against him._ "You cannot hurt me. I no longer feel pain. Jaguara's poison was strong. Her venoms eating me alive." _the noble says, throwing Toboe to the side with a hard land. I didn't hesitate to run to Toboe, who was lying on his side, bleeding out._

" _Toboe!" I yelled, running to him. Looking down at him, I could see he was in great agony. "L… Luna…" he wheezed. "Don't move! I'm gonna get help!" I say to him, running from him and going to find Kiba and them. Toboe couldn't die. He just couldn't. I won't let him die._

 _(Toboe)_

 _The red wolf laid there on the ice, losing blood by the minute. He could faintly hear the sound of Luna taking off to go get help. The fear in her voice was profound. He didn't want her to be scared. But… what was there to do?_

 _Then there was silence that surrounded them. Darcia had left the two wounded individuals to die._ Quent rested on his knees, looking at a dying Toboe. He had seen the black she wolf run off. But… it didn't matter now. He could only blame himself for shooting the wolf who defended him. Even the black she wolf did the same. She had stood by the red wolf's side and fought with him.

The old man slowly collapses onto the ice, coughing twice. "Mister…" a weak voice whispered. He opened his eyes to see the fatally wounded wolf starting to get up. Toboe started to stagger his way to the old man. Blood was dripping onto the ice with each painful step. "I'm… sorry." he grunted in pain.

"Don't be sorry. I was the one… who shot you." Quent breathed shallowly. Toboe winced heavily as the pain only intensified. "I gave my word to Blue that I'd look out for you. I promised her… I told her I'd defend you. But… I wasn't able to. I'm sorry." Toboe said, his breathing became labored. The tears in his eyes started to shed. He said that he wanted to stay by Quent's side for the rest of his life like Blue had done.

 _He collapsed in his wolf form, dragging his wounded body over to Quent. Once he made it, he landed on the old man's outstretched arm. "Let me… sleep here… for a while." he whispered, feeling his body start to go numb._ The old man then hesitantly starts stroking the dying wolf, seeing that this was no ploy or a trick in any way. His hatred for the wolves didn't matter anymore.

 _(Luna)_

I keep running for as long as my legs would carry me. "Tsume! Kiba! Toboe needs help!" I cry in distress. Soon enough, I see the forms of Tsume and Kiba come running up to me. "Luna! Oh thank god you're okay!" Tsume said in relief as he hugged me. I quickly hug him back with tears flowing down my face. "Luna, what's wrong?" Kiba said.

"It's Toboe! He's hurt! He needs help!" I shout, pulling away from Tsume. "What happened?" Tsume asked quickly. Tears started to well up in my eyes. "He's been shot!" I cry, getting a horrified reaction from them. Then we all run in the direction I came from.

The whole way there I was hoping… praying that Toboe would be okay. But when we got there, that faith had quickly been crushed. Toboe was laying on the old man's arm with a blood trail following behind him. "Toboe!" Tsume shouts as he dropped next to him. "Toboe! Toboe!" Tsume cried out, shaking Toboe to get him to wake up. But he only gasped in realization and he fell to his knees.

"Stupid kid…" Toboe said emotionally. It dawned on me then that… Toboe was dead. He didn't make it. My whole body felt numb and limp, getting me to fall to my knees. I thought… I thought he'd…

Tears streamed down my blood caked cheeks as I cried quietly. _When I feel my body again, I stand on my wolf paws and saunters over to Toboe's limp body. Going to where his wolf head is, I sit down in front of him with my wolf ears laid all the way back. He really was gone… Why…? I lower my wolf head and gently lick him on his wolf head, feeling my heart break as I did so._

" _I'm sorry… if only I had gotten here sooner… I promised..." I whisper, closing my wolf eyes. I walk away and_ sit next to Tsume in my human form, my legs pulled up to my chest. "Pops!" Blue's voice cried. "Toboe!" Hige shouts, coming up behind her. My eyes close and I let the tears fall silently.

Looking behind me, I see Blue kneeling in front of her masters and Toboe's bodies. I lean against Tsume and just didn't look at them. I didn't want to and feel the guilt of not being fast enough to save Toboe. Seeing him get shot was bad enough… and he dies because of it.

"Toboe…" Kiba said in sadness. _Then, we all shift to our wolf forms. We all let out a mournful howl into the sky. It was one of benefiting the loss of a child, a comrade, a friend, our brother… A howl that would echo through kingdom come._

Hours pass since we had lost Toboe. We didn't notice that the sky was much darker than before. I didn't move from my spot from Tsume. That same guilt weighed heavily on me and it wouldn't let up.

"We need to keep moving. That noble's still out there, trying to find Paradise." Kiba says to us, "It's our Paradise he's wanting to open." "It doesn't make sense… If that's what he wants then why doesn't he open one for the nobles?" Hige asks quietly. I wipe the stray tears from my cheeks and sniffled.

"The tree of seeds is there… on the horizon… it told this one where it is." Cheza announced, pointing ahead. Honestly, I don't care about what the tree of seeds is. I was too upset about seeing Toboe die the way he did. He was too young to go. That wolf was like a little brother to me; ever since I first met the kid.

"So what's your plan, Porky?" Tsume surly says. He too was angry about what happened and just as distant. "After coming this far, what the hell do you plan to do?" I say, not looking at him. "Are you gonna run from us?" Tsume asked softly yet dangerously. Hige swallowed hard at Tsume's remark.

"I'm not running. I thought you guys didn't want me here anymore." Hige says, frowning. "Neither one of us is more vital than the other Hige. Nothing Is indispensable. Not anymore." Kiba assured the tan wolf. Truthfully, we should kick him out for what he's done but, how could we? Especially since he's been with us for so long.

"No you guys don't. You are the only one who can go all the way. Paradise won't be opened without you there." Hige says earnestly to Kiba. Just hearing that tone of voice from him made me see that that jokester wolf that we met a while back was not there anymore. He was long gone…

"Even Tsume and Luna must realize that by now." Hige said lowly. "I don't care. I'm still going. For as long as I'm alive, I'm going with you guys. You're going too, Hige." Blue says, getting me to look back for a moment. She was determined to go all the way through even though her half blooded nature won't allow her.

"Stop making excuses! I know you want to go!" Blue shouted at Hige in a shrill voice. Hige's expression shifted a little before he stands up as well. Hige had to go with us. He couldn't up and leave. That seemed to snap him out of whatever trance he was in.

Suddenly, the ground began to violently shake from beneath us, making them stumble. Tsume quickly grabbed hold of me to protect me from the splitting ice. "It's falling apart. Even with it being this close to the center." Kiba comments. "He's right. We should go." Hubb pipes in, moving to get the handgun Quent had.

"If I start slowing you guys down, I'll finish the job myself." Hubb says, cocking the gun back and putting it up. He would rather kill himself if he slowed them down? "You coming, Luna and Tsume?" Hige asked us. I look down at my feet and sigh. "You guys go on ahead. We'll catch up. We want to talk to the runt for a moment." Tsume explains for both of us. The others understood and leave us with Toboe.

After a while, Tsume and I knelt down in front of Toboe. Looking at him now made him look at peace. It was as if his agony had completely faded away. "Look at you. We didn't realize how big you've grown." Tsume said, smiling sadly. "Yeah, when we first met you, I never believed I saw such a young, naive pup. But we know you were such a sucker when it comes to humans but… looks like we never really understood how much they meant to you until now." I add, glancing at the fallen human beside him.

"Guess jealousy got the better of me… I don't know about you Luna." Tsume said quietly. "Yeah… I feel that way too." I reply. I breathe heavily for a moment then looked at Toboe. "Are you listening to us, Toboe?" I say. "You asked us of how we got these scars. Do you remember?" Tsume asked, "These marks are reminders of our sins." Tsume started. I know that Tsume lost his pack in the same way as I did and paid the price for betraying his pack.

Tsume told Toboe his side of the story in a saddened tone as if he went through it yesterday. "I was banished from my pack after that." Tsume said, closing his eyes for a moment. "I, on the other hand, was told to run. My whole pack was being slaughtered before my very eyes. I wanted to help but my father told me to run and I had been shot in the ears as payment for my cowardice." I say, feeling my heart break once again.

"I didn't need friends. I couldn't trust myself to make any. All I ever did was hurt the ones around me. Until I met the four of you." Tsume said, getting me to look at him. I close my eyes and could see the images of when I first met everybody.

First there was Kiba, a wolf who put his pride and goals above all else. Then there was Hige, a seemingly bottomless pit but with a kind and caring heart. Then there was Toboe, the naive yet loyal red wolf who was the stronghold of this pack. Then, Tsume… a strong yet self reliant grey wolf who had kept his true feelings to himself. Then, there was I, a spunky she wolf who can hold out for herself and has a good heart.

Tears well up in my eyes as I open them. "We wanted… to take you to Paradise. It was you who brought us all the way out here…" Tsume said, sounding like he was about to cry. " _C'mon Tsume and Luna! Let's go! I believed in you two… I won't whine anymore… I won't run away."_ I thought I heard the red wolf say.

"Yeah… we know kid. We know…" Tsume said, silently shedding tears. "Wait for us Toboe… We will meet again… in Paradise." I say, rubbing the red wolf's head. I looked over at Tsume and saw the tears run down his cheek. At this moment, it was as if his cold nature had melted away. It was Toboe who made him the he was now besides me.

We stand up while looking down at Toboe and Quent. "Old man, take care of the runt for us." Tsume said, taking my hand. "See you later." I say turning around. The two of us walk off in the direction Kiba and the others took.

(Kiba and the others)

It was night time and the moon was shining bright down at the remaining wolves and the only human left on this planet that was alive. They were climbing up a mountain face. In doing so, the air seemed to get thicker and thicker which was making them having a hard time to breathe. Hubb stops and tries to catch his breath.

"Am I… the only one… having trouble breathing?" Hubb asks, panting heavily. "No. We all are." Hige replied, also panting. Blue theorized that it could be the altitude from the height of the mountain.

"We're almost there. The tree of seeds is waiting for us up there." Cheza announced, seeming immune to the altitude. The wolves follow her as quick as they could and eventually make it to a dead tree that looked as though it had been here for ages.

"This tree has been here all this time. It's felt the world's pain. But no longer. It can live freely now." Cheza says, touching the bark A light then flows through the tree and the pack follows the trail with their eyes. It lit up the dark sky into an array of different colors that danced with the sky.

The sight was beautiful and glorious to see. "We thank you." Cheza softly says. That tree had felt all the world's pain. It was a wonder what it had endured. "The Darcia family crescent?" Hubb says, getting the pack to look at him There was a large flat stone that stuck out of the icy ground with the symbol from Darcia's family.

"Oh… the tower seal. Based on the book of the moon, the nobles built this to seal Paradise off from the wolves." Hubb said, flipping through the pages of that book. "Seal? It's broken though. He said it was. And his face… he was becoming a wolf like the rest of us so he can get in too." Kiba said angrily. "You mean Darcia?" Hubb asked.

"One of his eyes is a wolf's eye. He saw Jaguara's Paradise. It was nothing more than a blatant lie. Seeing that it wasn't working, he decided to target our Paradise. That's why he's trying to become a wolf." Kiba explained, looking from the others, "Our future will be lost forever if he opens it first."

"There. The first mountain. The entrance to Paradise is there." Cheza points out. The pack follows the flower maiden up the mountain. The wolves bounded up the mountain as Hubb was struggling to keep up with them. "Hey mister? Are you okay?" Hige asks, making it up to a ledge to rest on. He looked over the edge to see that Hubb was still down below.

Before Hubb could respond, the ground shook once again. This caused Hubb to lose his grip and fall a few feet. He hung on desperately to a ledge.

 _ **I tell you now the words of red moon. From the great spirit was born the wolf and man became it's messenger. The beasts live their lives in silence. Abiding the blessing of the blood of the Gods bestowed upon them.**_

"Hey!" Hige shouted in panic. "Don't let go!" Kiba said, looking down at Hubb. "So much… for the… tough guy act." Hubb grunted, smiling at the wolves, "Guess I won't be… making it to Paradise… It's a shame… I wanted to… see this to the very… end." Kiba shouts to the helpless human in a panic, "Don't let go! We'll pull you back up!"

"It's okay. I'm not scared of dying… You wolves will save this world. I believe this now… more than anything." Hubb tells us, "I guess… I don't need the gun after all."

(Luna and Tsume)

Tsume and I had made it to an ice covered mountain. Making it up, there was something falling in my peripheral vision. When I look up, I gasp at what was falling. Or who was falling… It was Hubb, falling from the cliff.

Tsume tried reaching out for him but it was of no avail. Hubb was falling to his death. "Tsume… we have to go. The others are waiting." I say, trying not to cry. I then hear a loud yet distant thud below us. Hubb was dead… that fall had surely killed him.

Tsume nodded and grabbed my hand. We start bounding upwards to where the others were. They had to be close.

 _ **The white flower, after winning the cavour of the lord of night will share her scent. Preordained by an eternal incontinence, her form is of a supple white maiden. Only then will appear the wretched beast.**_

 _ **(Kiba)**_

Kiba froze in terror before turning around to look up behind him. He felt his heart sink to his feet as he saw who was talking. There… up on the top of the mountain, was a large wolf with one blue eye… and a gold eye, which flickered at the pack.


	32. Chapter 32 Wolf's Rain

The remaining wolves gaze up at Darcia in both horror and anger. Darcia had really turned into a wolf; a creature in which he wasn't supposed to turn into. " _ **The world where you go hand in hand with the flower maiden has neither happiness, joy, or life. This is because it doesn't contain perfect sadness nor misery nor death."**_ the large dark purple wolf huffed at the pack, his voice low and dangerous.

The purple wolf open his wolf jaws to show his full set of canine teeth. "He actually did it…! He turned into a wolf!" Hige gasps in terror. Their eyes did not deceive them. He was really a wolf. He had really done it so he could enter Paradise. " _ **What lies in waiting is the Paradise just for the wolves. The unclean humans are no more.**_ " Darcia sinisterly said. Blue's eyes narrowed in anger.

"Bastard…! It was you! You killed Pops!" Blue said outraged. She stood up with her fists clenched. " _ **Come with me Cheza. For what I've become is in great need of you."**_ Darcia seethed, walking down the mountain slowly. "Don't come any closer." Kiba threatened, stopping Darcia in his tracks. Darica looks at Kiba with a dangerous look.

"Hige, go on ahead." Kiba orders, walking up the mountain. "Kiba!" Hige exclaimed. Kiba didn't stop. It was Darcia's time to pay for everything he's done. His time is finished. "Take Cheza and Blue. Keep them safe." Kiba said, ignoring his protest.

 _Darcia darkly chuckles at the white wolf's courage with a sinister grin. He then leaps towards Kiba with his jaws open. Kiba too jumps at the large wolf with his wolf jaws open, ready for a deadly bite. In collision, the wolves missed each other and landed on the opposite side of one another._

 _The two jump and go up another ledge. Kiba waits a moment before lunging at Darcia with a snarl. He bites onto Darcia's pelt with a tight grip, only to be bitten with twice as much strength as his. The white wolf lets go and crashes into a block of ice with a hard hit._

 _Darcia growls and looks directly at Cheza. She gasps as Darcia started sprinting his way over to her. Hige stumbles to get in front of her with his foreleg raised up some. His efforts weren't good because of his injuries._

 _Before Darcia could get to the flower maiden, he was ambushed by Blue. Blue had her wolf fangs buried in the large wolf's side. He looks at her sinisterly and manages to get the wolf dog below him. Once he landed, a loud crunching snap made Cheza cry out. Blue's back had been shattered from Darcia's efforts._

 _Hige limped over to her as fast as he could however Darcia shoves him out of the way about a few feet. Darcia wasn't finished with Blue though. He walked over to Blue's broken body and puts his large wolf paw on her throat, causing her to whine._

" _NO!" Kiba cried out, knowing what was about to happen. Darcia gazes down at his fallen victim for a moment in pure pleasure. He then proceeds to bite down onto Blue's exposed throat with a heavy blow; it caused her blood to heavily pour out from the fresh wound._

" _BLUE!" Hige cried in agony, hearing the impact behind him. Kiba gets in front of Blue and snarled at Darcia. Hige then gets up and bites down on Darcia's leg with a tight bite. Darcia looks back at the tan wolf with a sinister grin. A look of horror appeared on Hige's face._

 _Just then, Darcia makes a deathly move and tears Hige's throat out of him._

(Luna and Tsume)

There was a shrill cry of pain that echoed through the air. It was Hige's cry. I look at Tsume with a look of terror on my face. He, too, was scared about what had happened. We jump up quickly up the mountain side to get to the others.

(Kiba)

Darcia had a hold on Cheza. Her blood was staining the sheet that she was covered in. He stares down at Kiba for a moment before jumping out of view with Cheza. Kiba grunts as he makes it to where Hige and Blue were.

Hige was on his hands and knees in human form with a deep gash in his throat. Blood stained his hoodie and the ice below him. Kiba looks at his friend with a horrified glance. "Go after him! Hurry! I'll take care of Blue…" Hige said, looking up at the white wolf with a pleading look. Kiba nods at what Hige said before going after Darcia.

(Hige and Blue)

Hige doesn't waste any more time watching Kiba leave him. Even though the pain was intense, he manages to push himself up onto his feet. He stumbled to Blue and collapsed beside the fatally wounded wolf dog.

"Hige… is that you?" she asks weakly. Her voice was no louder than the smallest whisper. "Yeah… I'm here." Hige responded weakly. "Everything's all blurry. Will you stay with me…?" Blue whispered. "I told you Blue… I'm not going anywhere… I'll never leave you." Hige said, moving the hair from her cracked open head and a string of blood fell from the wound. "That feels so nice…" she breathed, taking her final breath.

(Luna and Tsume)

Tsume and I finally made it on the ledge in our human forms. First thing we see is Hige and Blue laying by an iceberg. Both of them were fatally wounded. "Hige!" Tsume cried. "Hey… you two finally made it." Hige jokes weakly. Tsume and I bolt to Hige and kneel down in front of him. "Hige! Oh my god!" I exclaim, fearing for his life. His wound… it was much worse than I thought.

"Cheza… was taken by that freak. Kiba went after him." Hige wheezed. "Don't talk you idiot!" I shouted, feeling tears in my eyes. I just knew by looking at it that he wouldn't survive. "Can you… guys… do one more thing for me? I need you to kill me… one of you kill me… with your fangs." Hige whispered, getting Tsume and I to gasp. My breath caught in my throat.

I couldn't kill him… Even asking either one of us to do it is insane. I can't do it… I won't do it. "Can't you forgive me yet…? Am I… nothing but a traitor in yall's eyes?" Hige asks us, his voice starting to trail off. "That doesn't matter anymore!" Tsume growled, shaking his head. "Hige, I'm not killing you! That's not my choice!" I cry, feeling the tears fly down my face. "Please do it… I'm in pain here." Hige said again.

Tsume looked up at the dying wolf with gritted teeth. "Tsume… Luna..." Hige whispers. Tsume tried holding himself back but he lost that fight. He dug his wolf fangs into the tan wolf's neck tightly. " _Let's meet again… next time… in Paradise…" Hige breathed his final words. Tsume struggled for a moment before his shoulders heaved forward and I hear a sickening crunch._

 _He lets go and we look down at the dead wolves. I felt my heart shattering… Hige is gone… dead. I lock my wolf eyes at the sky above us and watched the sky dance in colors. I know my friends soul was up there. I'll always remember Hige… And I'll always remember Blue._

(Kiba)

Kiba runs up the side of the mountain and hears Cheza's pleas for help. "Ki...ba…" she said painfully as Darcia dug his wolf fangs deeper into her back. "Cheza!" the white wolf cried. Darcia hears this and tosses the flower maiden to the side. He bares his wolf fangs in a sinister, twisted grin as her blood started dripping from his jaw.

" _ **I will be one to open Paradise!**_ " he declared, his voice on the edge of insanity. "I'm not letting you do it." Kiba growled, staring down the large wolf. " _ **But why? Though opposite in nature we are not both wolves. It doesn't matter who opens it; it will remain the same."**_ Darcia said, lifting his head up. Kiba knew instantly that that wasn't true. He had seen the nobles paradise therefore it was a lie.

"That's a lie! The only thing you'll open is a world of darkness!" he snarled back at him. The purple wolf lowered his head threateningly at the white wolf. _At this, Kiba charged at the large wolf in his wolf form with his wolf fangs bared._

 _Darcia lunged at him as well. The two collide and manage to bite each other before landing on the opposite side. Kiba snarled loudly as he jumped at Darcia. Darcia snarled back and the two begin to fight. During this, Cheza was starting to stand up to her feet as blood dripped from an open wound._

 _Kiba saw her stand for a brief moment before getting pushed away from her. He rolled on the ground a few times. Before he could stand, Darcia held him down by his large paw._

 _(Luna)_

 _Tsume and I rush in to save Kiba from Darcia, who was now a large purple wolf. Tsume pushes him off Kiba with his body._ The two of us land in human form and I stand in a fighting stance. I stared hard at the purple wolf with my fists clenched.

"Talk about pathetic." Tsume mocked Darcia. "That's not a fair fight." I snarl, seeing the purple wolf stand up. "Where's Hige?!" Kiba cried out desperately but neither of us answer. "Kiba, stay back. I'm not losing another friend." I say, not looking back at him.

" _ **Why bother with this struggle? It is pointless. Paradise can't be opened by the likes of you two!"**_ Darcia snarled. "Save your breath pal! We already know!" Tsume harshly states. _I stand in my wolf form in a fighting stance. "Fight me you coward! You won't get near Cheza or Kiba" I snarl, my wolf fangs bared, "You had killed by friends! I won't lose anyone else!"_

 _Darcia growled at my antics and we charge at each other. The two of us start to fight to the death. I dig my wolf fangs deep into the side of his neck. He tries to throw me off by swinging his wolf body around but I wasn't letting go. I had to fight. Whether I lived or died, I had to fight._

 _Suddenly, he got the upper hand and threw me off of him. I roll a few times before stopping. "_ Luna!" _Tsume cried. Before I could get up, I feel a heavy, big paw on my throat. I was unable to move. "_ _ **This should teach you that death is much worse than open wounds!"**_ _Darcia yelled. I struggle under his weight but I couldn't move._

 _Then, I feel a lightning strike of pain in my throat and teeth. My whole body was on fire… my throat torn open… I couldn't move. Darcia then leaves me there as blood started oozing out of my wound._

 _(Tsume)_

"LUNA! NO! You bastard!" _Tsume yelled, leaping at the dark purple wolf with his wolf fangs bared. He had dug his fangs into the massive wolf's pelt and he used his forepaws to hold on. Darcia slams Tsume on a rock in an attempt to get him off._

 _Tsume had to take vengeance on Luna's injuries. He wanted Darcia to pay. But his luck ran out when Tsume pulls the large wolf's skin off and he rolled on the ice a couple of times. Before he could get up, Darcia beats him to it and uses his wolf jaws to slice Tsume's side open like paper._

 _(Luna)_

I managed to crawl to an ice block with my blood trailing behind me. The wound in my throat was fatal… I knew I wouldn't survive this. Every breath was agony. My whole body was hurting so badly.

"Ts-Tsume… Wh-Where are you?" I cough, my throat is hurting. My vision started to become blurry. The only thing I saw was shapes and colors. "Luna… I'm right here." Tsume said. I feel him pull me into his lap as my blood slowly oozes out of my mouth and onto my body. "Tsume… it hurts so bad." I groan, feeling the pain become immense. "Hang on, Luna! Don't fall asleep!" Tsume begged, grunting in pain.

I knew right then that he was hurt too. Tsume held me as close as he could. "Tsume… I'm… so… tired…" I groan, seeing stars in my vision. "Luna, don't fall asleep! You have to stay awake. Please…" he said, grunting in pain.

"Tsume…" I say quietly. "What?" he replied, his voice cracking. "K-Kiss me… please. I'm not going to make it…" I say, looking up at him with tears in my eyes. He does so. The kiss was warm against my lips and I kissed him back with as much strength as I could muster.

"I love you… Tsume." I wheeze, seeing more stars in my vision. "I love you too… Luna." he says, still holding me. Every inch of my body was getting heavier and more weaker with each passing second.

"Tsume! Luna! Are you alright?" Kiba called. "We're only tired. Go after him!" Tsume said. He proceeded to tell Kiba that he had to put Hige down. "We don't want to move anymore. My body hurts like hell…" I groan, my breaths becoming labored. Tsume tells Kiba how we knew that we wouldn't be the ones to open paradise. It was Kiba who had to do so.

"Go, Kiba." I groan, more blood coming out of my mouth. "Hang in there you guys!" Kiba begged. "Go… to Cheza Kiba. If you love her… please… go after her." I wheeze. Tsume lays me down on the ice _and my blood was draining below me. Darkness started to take me… I could feel it. Tsume too laid with me with his wolf nose touching my blood soaked fur._

 _I then go into a pit of darkness. But it wasn't over…_

 _Next thing I know, I'm in a field of lushy green grass under a gorgeous blue sky. I stand on my wolf paws and look around. The wound on my neck and cheek were gone. It was as if they weren't even there. I look around and see nothing but grass for miles and miles along with Lunar Flowers._

" _Come home Luna…" a familiar voice rang in my wolf ears. There was something calling me. But who was it? Then, a bright light started coming into view. As the figure drew closer, I saw a grey wolf with an X shaped scar on his chest._

" _Tsume!" I cried, running up to him. We run up to each other and I tackled him to the ground. "Oh Luna… I've missed you…" he said, licking my forehead. "I missed you too. Don't leave me again…" I say, running my wolf body on his grey fur. "Never again. I will never leave you again…" he whispered._

" _I love you Tsume…" I say. "I love you more Luna…" Tsume replied, licking my furry cheek. I was back with Tsume… the wolf that I have fallen in love with during our journey to Paradise. And I'd never leave him again._

 _Then, I hear the sound of howling in the distance. It was my family… They were here too. I'm home again._

 **This concludes my re-write of my Wolf's Rain Story. Thank you so much for sticking with me through this whole journey with Luna and the pack.**


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